The End of the Regular Road: Philadelphia Union vs. Sporting Kansas City

I'm happy to report that I'm turning in my first (and probably last) post of the season. I'd like to start off by acknowledging my bias/borderline man-crush towards Keon Daniel and reminding everyone that I will not listen to logic/reason when talking about his playing time.

The final game of the Union's regular season will take place on Saturday October 26th at 3:00 PM against SKC.

The Union sport (terrible pun intentional) an all-time record of 2-4-3 (W-L-T) against Kansas City. The Union and KC both have plenty to play for in this game. KC has the opportunity to win the Supporters' Shield, the Union (much like a Mexico of MLS) can qualify for the play-in game with some help from elsewhere in the league.

Sporting's last loss came on September 27th, against the Union. Since then they have had a tough time scoring, putting up only two goals in three games. SKC currently has 55 points, second only to New York's 56 points. This is a must-win game for Sporting if they want to win the SS.

The Union have been a roller coaster of mediocrity for the last six games, looking great at one moment, and looking like an early-season DC United at another. The second half of play against Montreal was uninspiring, save for a nice little chip from Roger Torres (yes, he's alive) into the box on a set piece. Even though we've not looked good over the past set of games, you can guarantee we'll be putting a team out there that is very familiar.

Right now, Daniel (L groin strain, may he heal quickly) Anding (concussion), and Lahoud (L ankle sprain) are listed as injured and will not be in Saturday's lineup. Le Toux (R foot plantar fascia) is back in training and may make an appearance Saturday against SKC. We should expect that the back four and keeper won't see any changes, neither will the forwards. Team captain Brian Carroll is suspended for this game due to yellow card accumulation, but Michael Farfan is coming off of his suspension and will be available to play. I'd love to predict that Roger Torres will be in the midfield in a game where we need creativity going forward, but at this point in the season I'd be satisfied/surprised if he got 10 minutes.

Last time I talked about the Union winning, I was rewarded with a 2-1 Union loss in Montreal. I don't see the Union winning this game, I go 2-0 to Sporting Kansas City.

P.S. I'll be at the game on Saturday in Section 138 or tailgating beforehand in Lot B, feel free to stop by and say hello.