The first of three MLS fixtures on Sunday will see the Philadelphia Union seeking to maintain their 100% record when they host Nashville SC at Subaru Park.
Philly are first in the Eastern Conference following a 2-0 victory over the New England Revolution, while the Boys in Gold won their first game of the season, 2-0, at home to the Portland Timbers.
Match preview
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After a season when so much went wrong in 2024, the Union are off to a flying start in 2025, winning their three domestic matches by a combined margin of 10-3.
Their 10 goals scored are more than they managed in their final five matches of the 2024 MLS campaign (nine), when they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Bradley Carnell has been able to get this team back on track and focused on their strong defensive structure from years past, with Philadelphia conceding just one goal in their last two league contests.
A year ago, it took them until matchday 13 to claim a fourth victory in this competition, but on Sunday, they can reach that mark in four games.
The Union have never begun an MLS campaign with four straight victories, while they have not lost a March encounter at Subaru Park since 2023 (2-1 to Orlando City).
Sunday will be the fourth time they welcome Nashville to Subaru Park in the regular season, with Philly emerging victorious in each of those previous occasions, without a single goal conceded.
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While Philly having been lighting up the scoresheet, Nashville continue to be the well-disciplined defensive unit we are accustomed to seeing.
BJ Callaghan's men have two clean sheets in their three regular-season affairs, though last weekend was the first time they found the back of the net in the competition this year.
Dating back to the end of last season, the Boys in Gold have only conceded in one of their previous four matches played in this competition.
On Sunday, Nashville can do something they have never done in this competition before, win an away game in March, claiming just one point in their two MLS away matches played this month last year.
The Boys in Gold are unbeaten in their last four regular-season affairs when leading at the interval, winning three of those encounters, including last weekend against the Timbers.
Their only competitive victory against the Philadelphia Union came in their inaugural campaign in 2020, when they triumphed 1-0 in Music City.
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Team News
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Last week, Ian Glavinovich was unavailable for Philly with a sore hamstring, while Markus Anderson was recovering from an ankle injury.
Tai Baribo netted the winner against the Revs with fewer than 15 minutes remaining, before Jovan Lukic scored his first career MLS goal in the latter stages and Andre Blake collected his first clean sheet of the campaign.
In their victory over Portland, Nashville had to play minus Jeisson Palacios, Jacob Shaffelburg, Julian Gaines and Bryan Acosta, who all had thigh injuries, while Maximus Ekk and Tyler Boyd were sidelined with knee issues.
Andy Najar scored their first goal of the 2025 season and his first as a member of Nashville SC, with Ahmed Qasem netting his first career MLS goal along the way.
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Westfield, Glesnes, Makhanya, Wagner; Gazdag, Bedoya, Lukic, Sullivan; Baribo, Uhre
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Najar, Zimmerman, Maher, Lovitz; Qasem, Brugman, Tagseth, Muyl; Mukhtar, Surridge
We say: Philadelphia Union 1-0 Nashville SC
The Union are likely to face their toughest defensive test yet, but they are pretty sharp in that department too, and we believe they have the resources to counter the Boys in Gold and continue their winning ways.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
