Pre-match Preview: CITY SC takes undefeated streak to Philadelphia

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Matrix Midwest) - After back-to-back wins, St. Louis CITY SC will head to the City of Brotherly Love this Saturday for its inaugural meeting against Philadelphia Union.

Following last week’s 1-0 victory against Seattle Sounders FC, St. Louis is now the third MLS club to start a season with four consecutive shutouts.

One more clean sheet would give CITY SC the record. But, the club will have to go through a tough, beaten-up Philadelphia side led by former St. Louis gaffer Bradley Carnell.

Ending the Seattle Slump

St. Louis’s victory against the Sounders last weekend was its first in five match-ups against the club. With that victory, CITY has now taken at least a point from every MLS Western Conference team since ing the league just over two years ago.

Energizer Park saw its first win and first goal Saturday, coming off the boot of midfielder Eduard Löwen in the 16th minute.

A free kick conceded by the Sounders provided the No. 10 with a perfect opportunity to show why he’s a set-piece specialist. Löwen sent a rocket into the top left corner of the goal and the park’s er section erupted.

Löwen has now scored the first home goal for St. Louis at both CITYPARK and the newly renamed Energizer Park.

“I’m always happy if I get the opportunity of a really good free-kick situation,” Löwen said. “I’m very grateful for it, and all glory to God that I was able to score that.”

St. Louis outshot its opponent 14 to 12, with 36 percent possession on 340 total es.

Both Löwen and center-back Henry Kessler were named to the MLS Team of the Matchday.

Ahead of the match, it was announced that goalkeeper Roman Bürki was diagnosed with a fracture in his hand and would be out against Seattle. The former Goalkeeper of the Year is expected to see a hand specialist soon to further diagnose the severity of the injury and timetable.

Backup keeper Ben Lundt was called in as a replacement and earned his first career MLS clean sheet and win.

“Ben gave us a lot of confidence,” said Löwen when asked about Lundt’s performance. “In a situation where he had to come up, he did, and he was very calm on the ball. So I think he did a fantastic job.”

Up Next

CITY SC will now head back on the road for its first-ever meeting with Philadelphia Union.

Union is now No. 2 in the Eastern Conference after dropping its last match to Nashville SC 3-1. It was their first loss of the season, and the first loss for former CITY SC head coach Bradley Carnell since ing his new club.

Philadelphia’s Outlook

Union has had a red-hot start to the 2025 season, mainly due to its phenomenal offensive production.

Philadelphia is first among all MLS clubs in goals with 11. They have boasted 24 on-target scoring attempts which is third in the league, and have an impressive accurate shooting percentage of 44.4. Defender Kai Wagner’s four assists are the most by any individual player thus far. Philadelphia will likely be without senior forward No. 9 Tai Baribo, whose six goals place him at the top of the MLS leaderboards in scoring.

This club, however, gets into trouble in other areas like defending and managing second balls.

Although Union is very aggressive in its pressing, it often pulls its ranks too far forward in hopes of an attack, leaving the backline vulnerable (which could easily play in St. Louis’s favor). When they are on the attack, long balls have proved very effective, but it’s the control of what comes after that Philly has had trouble with. Both in attack and in defense, it seems that the Union struggle with reading the game and getting to the right spots after an aerial duel.

Overall, the club is still working to master Bradley Carnell’s style of play, which revolves around little possession, high pressure, and strong counterattacking - somewhat similar to CITY SC’s current strategy.

CITY SC’s Outlook

St. Louis has begun the season on a very positive trend. They are among three clubs tied for third place in the Western Conference, but the only club in all of MLS to have yet to concede a goal.

St. Louis’s attacking and ing numbers are still among the middle of the pack in MLS. But, Henry Kessler and co. have continued to show great form in the backline as CITY SC ranks first in the league in aerial duel percentage (61.4) and second in clearances (52).

It’s obvious that defense has been a main focus of Head Coach Olof Mellberg’s style of play, which could help against a side like the Union. And with several players potentially regaining confidence in goal-scoring ability, St. Louis could certainly find the back of the net a few times on Saturday.

As far as injuries, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that both Tomáš Ostrák and Joakim Nilsson made their first appearances of the 2025 season last week.

The bad news is that goalkeeper Roman Bürki and defender Tomas Totland are expected to miss about a month of action. This leaves Ben Lundt in charge of goal for the foreseeable future and provides the club with an opportunity to experiment with its depth at defensive positions.

“Our main objective is to win the matches,” coach Olof Mellberg said after Thursday’s training. “We will put the right players on the pitch for the right roles. We are always looking at how we can add quality to the squad.”

Bottom Line:

Match Day Five can easily be viewed as St. Louis’s first “real” test of 2025. On the road, against one of the best clubs in the Eastern Conference, and its former gaffer. Will Union’s depleted roster prove to be too much of a problem? Potentially. At the very least, holding Union scoreless for a minimum of 68 minutes would give CITY SC the MLS record for the longest clean sheet streak to start a season. But, accolades aside, a win would mean much more for the 2025 campaign.

“Even if we’re aware of how they play, they can create danger, as they have done at the start of the season,” Mellberg said. “It’s a high-energy team. They like to get in behind the defensive lines, fill the box, and they have been dangerous there. We’ve got to be up for it on Saturday.”

Kick-off is set for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, at Subaru Park.

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