• Matchday 33: Philadelphia Union vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Saturday, October 4, 7:30 pm ET
• Venue: Subaru Park, Chester, PA
• Forecast: Unseasonably warm but pleasant, cooling as night goes on 70F/21C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Jessica Charman and Lori Lindsey (English), Diego Pessolano and Daniel Chapel (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Jon Freemon (referee), Lyes Arfa and Ben Rigel (assistant referees), Edvin Jurisevic (fourth official), Robert Schaap (VAR), Muhammad Hassan (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the sky-blue Excelsior Kit; Philadelphia will wear the dark-blue-and-gold XV Kit
It's Matchday 33, and New York City FC continue to run this end-of-season gauntlet by jumping on the Acela to face the league-leading Philadelphia Union in the Raquinho Derby. It's a battle between two of the most in-form teams in Major League Soccer, with both sides boasting a record of 4W-0D-1L in the last five played.
Not only that, it's a showdown between away-game specialists New York City (undefeated in six on the road), and a Philadelphia that have a league-best home record of 11W-4D-1L (undefeated in 14 at Subaru Park).
Both Alonso Martínez and Matt Freese are expected to be available after being sidelined with injuries. That's good news for a New York City gunning for home-field advantage in Round One of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs. The final table won't be set until Decision Day, but a win today, plus a loss or draw by Charlotte FC and Nashville SC, and a loss by Orlando City, and New York City will lock in a Top 4 spot in the East. Got that?
Bonus: A win will also give New York City seven road wins this season, equalling a club record. Not bad, considering that NYCFC had just one win in their first 10 away games.
Raquinho stole the show the last time these teams met at Subaru Park | Courtesy MLS and Apple TV
As for Philadelphia, a win will give them the 2025 Supporters' Shield. It will also set a club record for wins with 20, beating the 19 logged in 2022. Not bad for a team that every MLS pundit picked to finish as a Bottom 5 team — the one exception is Tom Bogert, formerly of Give Me Sport, who had them in 9th Place.
But will this high-stakes game with compare to the matchup at Subaru Park last year, when a raccoon later revealed as Raquinho interrupted the match, only for Hannes Wolf to score the game-winner in first-half stoppage time? Wolf might have been the Player of the Match, but it was Raquinho's performance that launched a thousand memes — and led to his very own Topps trading card.
It's a hard act to follow.
Hudson River Blue Staff
Oliver Strand
New York City vs Philadelphia H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 12 | 2 | 11 | 36 | 38 | -2 |
New York City maintain a slight edge in the head-to-head despite Philadelphia's exceptional form in recent years. NYCFC's record since 2021 is 4W-1D-7L, with 12 goals scored and 19 goals allowed.
