New York City FC take on the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park on Sunday, March 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30PM ET.
Here are the Keys to the Match, presented by Ford.
Away Again
After securing a point in their opening game of the season, New York City FC are back on the road against the Philadelphia Union.
The last time they traveled to Chester, Pennsylvania, it was for the Eastern Conference Semifinal. That visit saw Pascal Jansen’s side emerge 1-0 winners thanks to a beautiful team goal that was finished off by Maxi Moralez.
New York City would happily take a repeat result on Sunday afternoon, but they know it won’t be easy. Their 1-1 draw in their last game held many positives, but also many opportunities to improve.Â
A second consecutive away game gives the team the chance to secure three big points and show further progress from Matchday 1.
Busy Week
The Philadelphia Union are already engaged in two competitions.
As well as MLS, the Union are part of the Concacaf Champions Cup. They will play Defence Force on Thursday, holding a 5-0 aggregate lead from the first leg in Trinidad and Tobago. The second leg is due to take place in Chester on Thursday evening.
By the time the Union take on New York City FC, it will be the team’s fourth game in two weeks. Their MLS season opener ended in a 1-0 defeat against D.C. United.
Former Union striker Tai Baribo scored the goal, while the Union's new signing Ezekiel Alladoh was shown a straight red card for dissent.
The busy schedule can be seen as both a positive and a negative from a New York City perspective, but it could allow New York City FC to catch the Union off guard and secure a big win on the road.
Form Guide
There has not been a draw between these two teams since 2021.
During the last 10 MLS Regular Season meetings, the Union have won seven and New York City have won three. Last season, New York City FC visited the Union twice — once in the regular season and once in the postseason.
In both games, the result finished 1-0, with the Union claiming the regular-season win and New York City claiming the postseason victory.
Interestingly, that theme of narrow wins also extended to the meeting between the two teams in New York in 2025, where Pascal Jansen’s side ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a goal from Alonso MartÃnez.
It will be interesting to see if that pattern of close results continues on Sunday.
