CHESTER, Pa. – The Union kick off the 2026 MLS regular season schedule on Saturday as they head to the nation’s capital to take on MLS Eastern Conference foe D.C. United.

“I think everyone played a big, big role in that,” said Bradley Carnell when talking to the media on Thursday about the match against Defence Force to open Concacaf Champions Cup play. “I thought after the first 20 minutes that were somewhat, they have good individual players, so we just had to overwhelm them. And you know, we knew at some point, with the type of intensity we could play, it could be too much for them. And that did prove to be the truth and factual.”

While the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup opening round looms next Thursday, the Union must now shift their focus to MLS play with their second match in 14 days to kick off the 2026 season.

Recent results have been favorable for the Union at Audi Field, as Philadelphia has claimed victory in three of the last five matches there, including a 6-0 win last September. But that was last year.

For D.C. United, they come into their first league match of 2026 looking for some optimism after a 2025 season that saw the club finish last in the league with 26 points, a league-worst two home wins, and a league-worst -36 goal differential.

Second-year MLS manager Rene Weiler and the United front office did turn over the roster somewhat from last year, acquiring Romanian forward Louis Munteanu from Romania’s Super Liga squad CFR Cluj for a $6 million transfer fee as one of their big offseason moves.

The club also bolstered their defense, which tied the LA Galaxy for a league-worst 66 goals conceded in 2025, with the additions of Keisuke Kurokawa from J1 League side Gamba Osaka, Sean Nelis in a trade with the New York Red Bulls, and goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who signed as a free agent after his option was declined by Toronto FC this past offseason.

“I think it’s about a whole complexity of of what they’re trying to do now,” said Carnell when speaking about Saturday’s opponent. “And the first game is always a tricky one. Where are guys at? Where’s the fitness at? How does it look as a group? How does it come together as a group? So it’s always a bit of a lottery these first couple games.”

The other big move for D.C. United this past offseason was a trade with the Philadelphia Union for last year’s leading scorer Tai Baribo for $3.6 million. Baribo, who had 25 goals in 54 matches during his time in the blue and gold, would want nothing more than to score against his former club in his first appearance for his new team.

“He was a great player for our club, and he’s still a great player for for DC, ” Carnell praised of his former forward. “So, yeah, there’s going to be, I’m sure there will be a lot of battles on both ends, and there’s going to be a lot of pleasantries exchanged for sure before the match. And you know, it’s a play we respect very much. And you know, he’s always a danger. We know about his quality within the box and his movement of the ball so and his work against the ball as well. So we know exactly what to expect.”

Philadelphia still has a few players that Carnell said were day-to-day heading into this weekend.

Jovan Lukic is still dealing with rib contusions, which kept him out of last night’s match. Frankie Westfield’s status is to be determined after a physical night. Eddy Davis and Agustin Anello are dealing with some minor issues, according to Carnell.

In terms of Geiner Martinez and Olivier Mbaizo, the former had some visa issues but is cleared for MLS play, and the latter was a matchday scratch.

So we will see where things stand in terms of player availability heading into Saturday and the club’s focus for the match as they prepare for Saturday night’s showdown. Carnell also was not not looking too far ahead.

“I think one of the journalists last night was asking about Club America, and I was like, man, we’re not even there yet, and there’s still a game on next week,” said Carnell. “Thursday, and we got a game now on Saturday. So, you know, that’s the primary focus for our group this morning.”

With four matches in 14 days, it is certainly a busier start to the season than last year. However, Carnell and the rest of his staff know that, and they understand the importance of recovery, which will go a long way to ensure optimal performance and improve their chances against United.

The Union head coach shared that after their 5-0 win on Wednesday, the squad flew home that night and got right to work on their recovery early Thursday morning.

“The boys put a massive effort into into their regeneration upon arrival, like at 5am so we’re really, you know, I’m grateful for the team to to put their bodies first and make sure we can get recovered in the right way, and also now get get some rest in in a very important way, in terms of nutrition and sleep and everything like that. So again, we’re going to assess the deck, what cards we can put out there, on Saturday.”

The match is scheduled for 7:30 PM from Audi Field. If you cannot make it to the match, it is available on Apple TV.

Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union