• Matchday 19: New York City FC vs Philadelphia Union
• Date and Kickoff Time: Sunday, August 16, 6:10 pm ET
• Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
• Forecast: Cloudy with rain showers in the area, 75F/24C
• Watch: Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Chris Wittyngham and Lori Lindsey (English); Bruno Vain and Andres Agulla (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matt Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Sean Cabrera (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Sergii Demianchuk (referee), Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins (assistant referees), Sergii Boiko (fourth official), Younes Marrakchi (VAR), Tom Felice (assistant VAR)
• Kit: New York City will be in the sky-blue Excelsior Kit
The brief Leagues Cup side quest has ended and it's straight back into MLS action for New York City FC as they welcome the Philadelphia Union to Yankee Stadium for some Sunday night soccer.
New York City and the Union played the same three Liga MX teams in Leagues Cup, and both MLS sides ended their tournament run after three matches, picking up one win while losing twice. New York City beat Santos Laguna, while the Union beat Necaxa — though NYCFC lost to Necaxa, and the Union lost to Santos Laguna. Take what you will from those outcomes.
Both these teams went unbeaten in the three MLS matches that directly preceded Leagues Cup, so they each return to league play with positive streaks intact, though New York City faces an extra challenge: They won't have their all-around top player this season, Nico Fernández Mercau, as he's out for the Union game while serving a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation.
New York City settled for a draw in its last match at Yankee Stadium on July 31 before the shift to Leagues Cup, while the Union had three straight wins on the bounce before Leagues Cup began.
Philadelphia made an awful start to this season and begins this match way down in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and eight points off the final playoff spot, though the Union have improved since making a coaching change right at the onset of the World Cup break. New York City finds itself firmly in the middle of the playoff pack, in seventh place with 26 points, but only one point above eighth place, the spot that draws you into a one-game playoff, and only five points above the playoff qualification line.
Michael Battista
New York City FC H2H Record vs Philadelphia
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 39 | 40 | -1 |
