Philadelphia Union Vs New York City FC: Cushing Praises NYCFC's Togetherness Amid Strong Form

Nick Cushing praised the unity displayed by New York City FC as they aim to maintain their strong form against a struggling Philadelphia Union. The Boys in Blue had a rough start to the MLS season, losing four of their first five matches, but have only been defeated once in their last seven games.

Last weekend's 3-2 victory over Toronto FC marked New York's fourth win in five matches. Cushing commended the character shown by his squad recently. "We're training incredibly well," he said. "Our intensity and our culture are excellent at the moment. I'm so proud of the team because if you look at the way the bench celebrated the third goal [against Toronto], these are guys that really want to get on the field. The way they celebrate for their teammates and for the team shows me that [togetherness]."

Despite their impressive form, NYCFC face a potential challenge in Philadelphia, who have won each of the last five meetings between the Eastern Conference sides. "They are a really hard team to get results against, especially there [at home]," Cushing added. "There's an opportunity there for us, but we have to prepare well."

The Union are without a win in five matches, losing three, and have been defeated in each of their last three home games. Jim Curtin's side started the season with a seven-game unbeaten run, and the head coach has urged his players to draw inspiration from that as they aim to turn their fortunes around.

"I'm a big believer that you can make your own luck," Curtin said. "We've shot ourselves in the foot quite a bit in recent games, played from behind quite a bit, had to chase games and put a lot into them, and we get punished. We have to stick together as a group and find a way to tighten things up. We're on a really bad stretch here, but we know we're capable of going on unbeaten streaks already like we've had this year. We have to turn it around, and we can't feel sorry for ourselves."

Players to Watch

Philadelphia Union: Daniel Gazdag

Despite Union's recent struggles, Gazdag has been in fine form, scoring in three straight home games, though they have all ended in defeat. The Hungary international is the first player to score in three successive home matches but appear on the losing side each time since Colorado Rapids' Kei Kamara in 2019.

New York City FC: Hannes Wolf

Wolf set up two of NYCFC's three goals in their victory over Toronto FC last time out. The midfielder became the first Austrian to claim at least two assists in an MLS game after Daniel Royer (2020), Andreas Ivanschitz (2016), and Andreas Herzog (2004).

Match Prediction: New York City FC

New York have won four of their last five matches, scoring multiple goals in each of their victories. They had only scored two or more goals once in their opening seven games of this season. Meanwhile, Philadelphia are currently on the longest losing home streak in their history, having lost each of their last three at Subaru Park.

Opta Win Probability

Pulling the strings and playing with a smile on his face Big shouts to Hannes on registering two assists last night.