The Philadelphia Union travel to Austin, Texas, to wrap up a schedule of six matches in 22 days, including three matches in seven days, as they face Austin FC at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night.

With temperatures in Austin expected to reach upwards of 107 degrees, the home club issued a time change on Thursday, moving the match from the original 7:30 p.m. local kickoff to an 8:00 p.m. kickoff due to the high temperatures (9:00 PM ET).

Still, with high temperatures expected at kickoff, interim head coach Ryan Richter knows that the temperature will factor into the match and affect how they approach it.

While Richter said it doesn’t change how things are set up, he did mention how the weather will factor into the play of the match and the management of the squad during their 90 minutes.

“We do have to be smart in the way that we approach the game, but the way that we manage the game more importantly,” Richter said when asked during the team’s press conference on Thursday. “When the weather is like that and, you know, we know it in MLS, but you can see even with world class players and you see in the World Cup games when they’re playing in these kind of temperatures, the way the game really slows down and the intensity can drop for periods.”

“We have to make sure we manage those periods in the game well and pick the right moments when we go aggressive and we want to go quick and we want to attack quickly and press high, but also recognizing moments where we have to stay compact and we have to defend well and even moments when the intensity in the game drops a little bit, because it’s a real thing.”

While roster management will be key Saturday, the Union did get a bit of good news on Friday when the league announced that Cavan Sullivan’s red card was rescinded following its issuance in the 102nd minute of Wednesday’s match against Inter Miami, and he will be eligible for selection.

The league also issued fines to Lionel Messi and Ian Fray for violating the league’s policy regarding hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent. No amount was disclosed in the league’s announcement.

The squad will also be getting back Jovan Lukic, who served his one-match suspension on Wednesday for yellow card accumulation.

The Union head into Austin having gained 13 points in their last five matches since the league’s restart in July and currently sit just four points out of the ninth and final playoff spot with 14 matches to go in the MLS regular season.

While that might be cause for celebration for some, Richter has always taken a one-match-at-a-time approach, and while he believes in this team, they still have a lot to work on and improve if they want to reach the playoffs in 2026.

“The message to the guys with that is, you know, on short rest it’s easy to get up for a game like Miami at home, like that’s always easy to to bounce back and be up for that game,” he said. “But now another game on short rest away from home in Austin, Western Conference opponent, we have to travel. Let’s make sure we’re able to get up again for this one and that’s going to be a real test of our mentality and the way that we can kind of approach this game. But again, going for a win away from home.”

Their opponent comes into the match on a high note after defeating Western Conference opponent Seattle Sounders 2-1 on the road Wednesday following goals from Guilherme Biro and Facundo Torres for their second win in five matches in league play.

But while Austin, which sit at 20 points and 14th in the West, might look like at least an opportunity to get a point on the road, there is talent there for interim head coach Davy Arnaud, who will remain at the helm until the end of the 2026 season. Former Union manager Jim Curtin will take over the club’s reins heading into the Sprint Season at the beginning of 2027.

Players like Torres, who has two goals and five assists, will be one to watch, along with attackers like Myrto Uzuni with six goals and veteran forward Christian Ramirez with five goals. Then add veteran goalkeeper Brad Stuver, who is always dependable, and this is a team that is more than capable of getting a result at home on Saturday despite only four wins at Q2 Stadium this season.

The only player unavailable when MLS Communications released its player status report was Austin’s Owen Wolff, who is out with an ankle injury. As for the Union’s Geiner Martinez, who was off the roster on Wednesday but was not featured in the availability report, we will see what his status is for when the rosters are announced.

Two other notes heading into the match: Neil Pierre, who has now had three goals in his last five league matches, as I reported earlier this week during my match recap, picked up his second MLS Team of the Matchday honor for his performance on Wednesday. The 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Defender of the Year has been making a name for himself since his return from loan.

Whether or not he plays the full 90 remains to be seen, but it is good to see him developing before our eyes, and his time in Philadelphia may be coming to an end sooner rather than later if he keeps up this pace and the Union get an offer too good to refuse.

Also, Austin FC, who won their first two matches of Leagues Cup and then got the result over Club América in a penalty shootout, will play Liga MX side Toluca on Wednesday at Sports Illustrated Stadium in the quarterfinals of the tournament. How much Arnaud and his staff factor that match into their plans Saturday remains to be seen, but sitting 28th in the league overall, this might be their best shot at reaching the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup for the second time in club history.

Finally, if you are heading to the match, check out our travel article for places to check out while in town.

The match is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. from Q2 Stadium and will be available on Apple TV.

Main article photo credit: Emily Wallace-Sutton