THE BIGGEST GAME OF ALL IS HERE!
This is it, the game that 28 teams in MLS battled to take part in, but only two can do. In 2022, it’s LAFC and the Philadelphia Union, who will square off in the MLS Cup Final Saturday afternoon at The Banc.
LAFC are coming off the best regular season in the league, just edging out the Union, in fact, as they won the Supporters’ Shield and have been getting better as the playoffs have gone by. After edging out the LA Galaxy in the conference semifinals, they put together a dominant 3-0 win over Austin FC last week in the conference final and look to be playing their best soccer at the most important time. But they can’t get ahead of themselves, they actually need to show up, perform and execute like they can to get their hands on MLS Cup.
And Philly will definitely be their toughest test yet. In addition to ending up equal on points for the regular season with the black-and-gold, LAFC only winning the Shield through the first tiebreaker, the Union have been good this year at two things: Defending better than anyone in the league and scoring in bunches themselves. That’s almost always a winning formula, and wins in the playoffs over FC Cincinnati and New York City FC demonstrated that the Union are legit and they won’t back down, not by a long shot.
These teams keep drawing each other and so it’s really hard to nail down a favorite here. LAFC get home-field advantage, that could make the difference, but Philadelphia aren’t intimidated by playing in Los Angeles. Obviously from an LAFC perspective, we want the win. Just do what you gotta do to win, and you’ll be legends, simple as that. Let’s goooooo!
Injuries/absences:
LAFC:
- Eddie Segura (leg) — OUT
Philadelphia:
- Alejandro Bedoya (hip) — QUESTIONABLE
Odds:
According to our partners at DraftKings Sportsbook, as of Friday afternoon, LAFC are (-130), Philly are (+285) and a draw (obviously this is a final, but tied through regulation) is (+300), so LAFC are big favorites yet again at home. Obviously it’s the must-win game, so they must win here.
How to Watch:
Saturday’s match between LAFC and the Philadelphia Union will be televised nationally on Fox, Univision and TUDN. The broadcast is scheduled to start at 1 pm PT with kickoff to come at 1:05.