CHESTER, Pa.— On Saturday, the Philadelphia Union return home for their second to last home match of the MLS regular season as they take on the New England Revolution at 7:30 p.m. at Subaru Park.

Philadelphia heads into the match in the midst of a playoff push, riding a 15-match unbeaten run. With all the honors and recognition the Union have received for their recent results, interim head coach Ryan Richter is enjoying the squad’s current form and embracing the challenges these matches at the end of the season present.

“When you look at this stretch of games that we’re in,” Richter said while speaking to members of the media, “I mean, it’s pretty cool. It’s a pretty cool position for us to be in, where we get on our great run over the last couple of months, and and now we get the tests of is this the company that we belong in.”

The Revolution head to Chester coming off a 1-0 home win over Chicago this past weekend, picking up their second win of the week after defeating Cincinnati on the road midweek. New England enters the match in good form after having dropped two games prior to last week.

First year head coach Marko Mitrović’s squad has, by all accounts, enjoyed a very successful first season under his tutelage. The club currently sits third in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Inter Miami, and has qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs after missing the postseason the previous two seasons. Mitrović has also been mentioned by some pundits as a candidate for MLS Coach of the Year.

“Yeah, I think they’re they’re very organized against the ball, and in moments where they’re defending a little bit deeper, it’s really it’s a team job, similar to the way that we’re approaching it,” Richter mentioned to the press. “And he has the buy-in from all of even the attacking players to be committed to this to put the team in position to be successful. And then when you see them when they’re in possession, it’s very fluid and a lot is built around Carles Gil, who’s, like I said, for me one of the best players in the league and has been for a long time. But it’s very fluid in the way they change positions, in the way they have some of the rotations in the attacking half to get him in position where he he’s on the ball and can can find passes where he can be the difference.”

“So for us, we have to make sure that we’re organized in those moments. A lot of communication, making sure we get numbers around him, and limiting the space that he has and the time that he’s able to to find the positions that he likes to try to find final passes. But overall, it’s a good team, organized team, and a lot of good players that can hurt you if you don’t do a good job and aren’t focused for the 90 minutes.”

The 2021 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player has enjoyed a very successful season, recording 18 goal contributions to this point, including an MLS career high 12 goals.

Gil’s playmaking ability will certainly be a focus for Richter and his staff as they develop a game plan to contain the Spaniard. However, other members of the Revolution could pose difficulties for Philadelphia as well.

Striker Dor Turgeman leads the squad with six assists to go along with his nine goals this season.

Peyton Miller and Brooklyn Raines were both part of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad during the September window for the U.S. Men’s National Team, alongside Cavan Sullivan, Neil Pierre, and Frankie Westfield.

The two were also included in MLS’s 2026 22 Under 22 rankings, with Miller ranked sixth and Raines coming in 10th. While both have enjoyed impressive seasons, Miller, in particular, has been solid in 2026, recording seven goals and six assists.

Daniel Gazdag will return to Subaru Park after the midfielder mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the Columbus Crew and signed as a free agent with New England in September.

After earning a win in Chicago last Wednesday and picking up a point on Saturday against Charlotte, two teams currently above Philadelphia in the standings, New England will present another opportunity for the young Union squad to gain valuable experience in playoff-like intensity as they continue their postseason push against another challenging opponent.

However, interim head coach Ryan Richter, as he has said throughout this run, remains confident in his team and embraces the opportunity.

“Look, the teams at the top of the standings are there for a reason because they’re good teams, you know, and it’s harder to win against good teams because they’re more organized, better players, better energy, and overall just a more difficult game,” Richter said. “And what we have to make sure that we do is compete in the way that we do. But now I hope we also take some confidence that yeah, this is exactly the level that we’re at as a team, and we have to continue to show that on a week-to-week basis.”

“So this is another opportunity against New England on Saturday, where another good team, top of the Eastern Conference, with some really top players and really organized. And for us to be successful, we have to be at our best, but also cut out some of the mistakes. Like I thought from the Charlotte game, mentioned after the game, but the two goals we conceded were preventable, and against good teams, you know, you can’t have these lapses. So we have to learn from that, but also take away some of the positives where some of the chances that we’re creating, some of the play was was really good at the end of a long, difficult week. So for us, let’s take confidence that this is exactly where we belong and the teams that we can and and will compete against.”

If the Union emerge victorious on Saturday, they will secure a spot in the playoffs once again. However, there are other possible scenarios in which they could clinch a postseason berth.

Should the club draw on Saturday, Philadelphia could still qualify, provided the Red Bull New York draw with Inter Miami, or Columbus and Toronto draw, or Red Bull New York loses to Miami.

The Columbus Crew face Toronto FC at 3:30 p.m., while the New York Red Bulls take on Inter Miami at 5:30 p.m., meaning the Union could find themselves in the playoffs before they even kick off.

Regardless of those results, the Union would certainly prefer to secure a win, as three points could potentially see the club jump from sixth to fourth place, depending on the results of Chicago’s match in Atlanta and Charlotte’s match in Portland.

During Thursday’s media availability, Richter provided a few updates regarding player health and availability for Saturday’s match. Cavan Sullivan suffered a knock against Charlotte, and the club has been managing the 17-year-old’s workload this week in hopes that he would be available.

However, when the player status reports were released Friday afternoon, Sullivan was listed as out for Saturday’s match, as was Jesús Bueno.

Regarding Bueno, Richter said he is progressing, and all signs currently point in a positive direction, although he is not quite ready to return.

As for Sullivan, given the two road matches against Nashville and Cincinnati next week, it’s the right call to give him more time to recover rather than risk further injury.

Look for Indiana Vassilev and Quinn Sullivan to step in and fill the role on Saturday, while this could also provide Agustín Anello with an opportunity to see more playing time.

As for Bruno Damiani, Richter did not provide an update on his status for matchday after the striker left Saturday’s match in the 82nd minute. However, Damiani was not listed on the injury report.

Damiani has scored nine goals in his last seven matches and, along with Milan Iloski, has been a key contributor to the Union’s attack during this run. The striker was also named to Uruguay’s national team’s preliminary roster on Friday for the upcoming window, as reported by José Nuñez.

Iloski’s 19 MLS goals this season are the second-most in a single regular season in Union history, trailing only Gazdag. Should he score on Saturday, he will become the first player to score 20 goals in both the USL and MLS.

As for New England, it is worth noting that the aforementioned Raines and defender Will Sands are both listed as questionable after playing last weekend.

New England won the previous meeting between the two clubs this season, back in May in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Union took the lead on an own goal by Sands and carried a 1-0 advantage into halftime.

However, the Revolution found the back of the net twice in the second half. Luca Langoni drew the match level in the 61st minute, and Carles Gil scored the game-winner in the 87th minute, surprisingly his first ever goal against Philadelphia in 16 matches.

But that was then, and this is now. Saturday will present another great test for the Union to show that this club is indeed ready for the playoffs and capable of holding its own against some of the better teams in Major League Soccer.

Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union.