Soccer Weekend: Philadelphia is fast, dynamic, and now sit first in the Eastern Conference headed into Saturday

When the Revolution schedule was put out back in January, this Saturday’s matchup with the Philadelphia Union was just that — a regular meet-up with the Union. But following Philly’s 2-0 win over FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night, the Union are now leading the Eastern Conference, sitting in the top spot on goal difference.

The Revs will hope to keep a relatively potent Philadelphia offense in check and revive their postseason dreams in one fell swoop Saturday night, when these two Eastern Conference rivals meet at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Penn. (7:30 p.m.).

Coming off a 4-4 draw in Kansas City a week ago, New England enters the weekend in the Eastern Conference basement with only two wins and a pair of draws in its first 10 matches. A win against Philly can move the Revs as high as eighth, depending on other results in the league.

Wednesday’s victory moved the Union into first at 5-3-2 (17 points).

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Philadelphia is a fast, dynamic team, with manager Jim Curtin utilizing several different formations the last couple of weeks; against Cincinnati on Wednesday, the Union went with a 4-4-2 diamond in the midfield, with strikers Fafa Picault and Kacper Przybylko coming up with this weekend’s hosts’ two goals. There is plenty of speed in this team, and the Revolution will look to slow them down.

But if there’s one thing that Revolution fans should know from our film review this week is that the Union play very direct once they get into the attacking third: outside of a cheeky touch here or there, there is little to no creativity in what they do.

Expect everything Philadelphia does to go through Haris Medunjanin, who’ll play in the No. 6 role should Curtin elect to go with the 4-4-2 diamond. Medunjanin always has his head on a swivel, and will look to dictate play with sharp passes, changing the point of the attack rather effortlessly.

Curtin also has several options at striker, between Picault, Przybylko, and David Accam, once with Chicago. Accam is fast, makes quick decisions, and can use both feet with a great deal of effectiveness in attack. Defensively, expect the strikers to press and use a high line of confrontation when the Revs have the ball in their defending half.

But the talk surrounding Philly these days comes from 18-year-old Homegrown midfielder Brenden Aaronson, who has played at both the Nos. 7 and 10 roles for the Union so far. He can deliver service into dangerous areas and has good vision; yes, 18-year-olds can play at this level, and be dangerous at the same time.

Also making some waves? Jamiro Monteiro, who plays a very technical game on the ball. He uses quick touches and fancy footwork to get the job done.

Philadelphia also brought in Mexican star Marco Fabián into the side during the offseason, but he has not played a full 90 in several weeks; he came off after 23 minutes against LA Galaxy on April 13 with an ankle injury, but he has since returned to training. Should Fabián be ready to play Saturday, expect him to use his pace to bust through the Revolution lines. He can also be a rather dirty player: he had a foul 9 minutes into his last full game on April 6, and FC Dallas scored from 19 yards out on the subsequent free kick.

Defensively, Philly generally marks well, but an offense that moves can break free of their marks and cause problems. Ray Gaddis is a steadying presence in the back, and he can play either fullback positions; however, he can be beaten late in matches as he tires. He went the full 90 on Wednesday.

Jack Elliott has held down the right center back spot since last season, with Auston Trusty sliding into the left center back slot. Trusty can deliver a long ball or two. Philadelphia also has Aurélien Collin, if need be, and he’s a veteran presence who can stabilize a back four. With Elliot and Trusty both going 90 on Wednesday, don’t be surprised to see Collin in the Philly XI at the weekend.

And don’t forget Alejandro Bedoya over on the right. He can play up or sit back, and expect him to help on the defensive side of things, too. He’s crafty.

Lastly, Philadelphia has dealt with some goalkeeper injuries in recent weeks: Andre Blake came off injured against Montreal on April 20, replaced by Harvard product — and 20-year-old Union Homegrown — Matt Freese.

But Freese only played 41 minutes against Cincinnati, making way for third-string keeper Carlos Miguel Coronel, the Brazilian on loan from Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg. We'll see who Curtin elects to go with between 6:30-6:45 p.m. Saturday night.

Also in the league this weekend:

On Saturday, Colorado and interim manager Conor Casey — he of the Dover, N.H. Caseys — will host Vancouver before New York Red Bulls host LA Galaxy (ESPN, 2 p.m.), Houston hosts FC Dallas (4 pm., Univision), Orlando City hosts Toronto, Montreal hosts NYCFC, and DC United hosts Columbus.

On Sunday, Minnesota United hosts Seattle, Real Salt Lake hosts Portland, San Jose hosts FC Cincinnati, and LAFC hosts Chicago.

Down the street, Hartford Athletic will open up its home slate in the USL Championship at 7 p.m. on Saturday evening as it hosts the Charlotte Independence (you remember them?) at Rentschler Field. HAFC are using The Rent until the Dillon Stadium remodel is finished.

Interesting to note: while Rentschler has been used for U.S. men’s and women’s matches, Saturday will be only the fourth club match played there. Liverpool played Celtic there in 2004, Benfica played Fiorentina in 2015, and most famously, New York City FC had to move a late-season game against Houston to East Hartford due to a make-up Yankees game two seasons ago.

Also in the USL, Birmingham Legion FC is on the road to Memphis 901 FC, and that’s a 4 p.m. ET start.

Locally, Boston City FC will host Hartford City FC in the Lions’ NPSL home opener at Harry Della Russo Stadium in Revere starting at 7 p.m. Saturday night. The two teams battled to a 3-3 draw at the University of Hartford last weekend, with Jhonata Batista — who scored the lone BCFC goal when we saw the Lions against Juve-Pro of the UPSL in the first qualifying round of the US Open Cup last September — scoring twice and adding an assist. HCFC will then host Greater Lowell on Sunday at the University of Hartford.

With two weeks left in the Premier League season, the fight for European places and the right to stay up are into the nitty-gritty.

This weekend’s action starts Friday afternoon, as Everton hosts Burnley. On Saturday, Bournemouth hosts Tottenham Hotspur in the 7:30 a.m. fixture, West Ham hosts an already-safe Southampton, Wolves host Fulham, while Cardiff City makes a stop in the Last Chance Saloon when it hosts Crystal Palace. Also, Newcastle United hosts Liverpool during the lunch hour.

On Sunday, Chelsea hosts Watford, Huddersfield Town hosts Manchester United, and Arsenal hosts Brighton Hove & Albion. And on Monday, Manchester City hosts Leicester City.

We should note that Cardiff is pretty much relegated if it fails to beat Palace, unless Brighton gets a minimum result against the Gunners — which wouldn’t shock me, given the way Arsenal has bottled results lately; a Brighton win would relegate Cardiff. Four points separate 17th place Brighton and 18th place Cardiff.

Five points also separate third-place Tottenham and sixth-place Manchester United, so those results this weekend are critical headed into next weekend's Super Sunday.

Last weekend in the Football League Championship, Norwich City and Sheffield United gained promotion to the Premier League. Entering the final weekend of the regular season, two teams separated by only one point are looking to gain the final promotion playoff spot: Derby County (6th, 71 points) hosts playoff contender West Bromwich Albion, while Middlesbrough (7th, 70 points) travels to already relegated Rotherham United.

Bristol City (8th, 69 points) has already concluded its season and cannot make the promotion playoffs.

Leeds United and Aston Villa are, like West Brom, in the promotion playoffs.