Philly Leader

Philadelphia Union look to continue their Leagues Cup journey as they welcome Liga MX side Mazatlán FC to Subaru Park on Saturday night. The match will commence at 7:30 PM and will be available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

This marks the second consecutive year that Philadelphia Union has reached the final eight of the tournament, joining LAFC as one of only two teams to advance this far in both years of the competition's existence. On Saturday, they will host Mazatlán FC, a team they have never faced before. This is not surprising given that Mazatlán FC, from Sinaloa's Pacific shoreline, is just four years old.

Mazatlán's 2024 Leagues Cup campaign has been unexpected; they entered the tournament seeded 43rd out of 45. After advancing out of their group, they secured a 2-1 win against D.C. United and then progressed from the Round of 16 via a penalty kick victory against Cruz Azul.

Their journey to Chester was challenging, nearly ending when Cruz Azul overcame a two-goal deficit despite being down a player due to a red card. Penalty kicks ultimately saved them while Philadelphia Union faced FC Cincinnati in an equally intense matchup.

After a scoreless first half, Philadelphia Union took a two-goal lead with goals from Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo within ten minutes of each other. However, Cincinnati equalized with goals from Pavel Bucho and DeAndre Yedlin. Philadelphia reclaimed their lead with quick successive goals from Baribo and Quinn Sullivan.

Both teams are now closer to earning a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup -- the winner of Leagues Cup secures an automatic berth in next season's Round of 16, while second- and third-place teams qualify for the group stage.

Leon Flach reflected on his memorable moments competing in CCC during Friday’s press conference: “Every game in CCC is do or die... You play against the best – Club America... Every game has different challenges... So I think CCC is something great.”

For this match, Head Coach Jim Curtin faces some limitations when crafting his starting lineup. Defender Olivier Mbaizo will be unavailable due to an injury sustained during Tuesday’s match. Nate Harriel will fill his spot, supported by Frankie Westfield from Philadelphia Union Academy.

Curtin also announced that Jose Martinez would not play on Saturday amid rumors surrounding his potential departure: “Maybe something with Jose... He’ll miss tomorrow... All of a sudden, we're not thin but thinner pretty quick,” Curtin said.

Curtin emphasized team health and performance: “Team health is really critical... In our last six performances... Every player has contributed... But you see fine margins when you maybe have a guy get transferred or injured.”

Despite these absences, recent signing Danley Jean Jacques will be available for Saturday’s match.

The event at Subaru Park could lead to a Semifinal match on Wednesday against either Columbus Crew or New York City FC. The action begins at 7:30 PM on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.