Eastern Conference Semifinal: New York City vs Philadelphia at Subaru Park

The MLS Cup Playoffs are back, and New York City FC are set to play Philadelphia Union after an eventful international break put the postseason on pause for two weeks.

This will be the fourth time NYCFC meet Philadelphia in the MLS Cup Playoffs, the most of any New York City opponent. To get here, Philadelphia brushed aside Chicago Fire FC in the minimum two games to win Round One, while New York City survived a tense three-game series against Charlotte FC — a grind that ultimately cost them two midfielders, Andrés Perea to a broken leg and Aiden O’Neill to a yellow card suspension.

The NYCFC absences are a major talking point heading into this match, something that tends to happen whenever New York City and Philadelphia meet in the MLS Cup Playoffs – a very 2021 Eastern Conference Final vibe, if you will.

Along with Perea and O’Neill, Alonso Martínez is also out after injuring his leg with Costa Rica during the international break. All together, NYCFC will be missing players who provided a combined 24 goals and five assists across over 7,000 minutes of game action this season — that’s 43% of all the goals New York City scored in all competitions this season. New York City will have work to do to fill the major void left by Martínez, Perea, and O’Neill.

Playing With House Money: NYCFC are ahead no matter what happens in Philly

New York City FC under Pascal Jansen exceeded all expectations: Does that give them a degree of freedom as they get ready for the toughest fixture this year when they face Philadelphia Union in the Conference Semis?

Hudson River BlueJohn Baney

New York City vs Philadelphia H2H

The head-to-head between the two clubs is even, with both teams logging two wins over the past two years. In 2025, New York City and Philadelphia swapped 1-0 home wins. But in 2024, both teams won on the road, and both were memorable games.

First, there was New York City’s 2-1 triumph in a match that saw the debut of Raquinho, the raccoon that didn’t know the meaning of the word “quit.” Then there was Philadelphia’s surprising 5-1 thumping of NYCFC at Yankee Stadium, when a heavily-rotated Union handed Nick Cushing the third-biggest loss in club history.

The two teams have never played to a draw at Subaru Park, where NYCFC have a fairly strong record of 6W-0D-8L, with 16 goals scored and 19 goals allowed.

New York City vs Philadelphia Postseason H2H

The playoff history between these two teams is deep enough to warrant a head-to-head breakdown — as mentioned above, this will be the fourth postseason clash between the two clubs.

The first meeting came in the 2018 Knockout Round, when New York City defeated Philadelphia 3-1 in the only playoff game between these two teams hosted by NYCFC. Then there was New York City’s 2-1 road win in 2021, when a depleted NYCFC beat an even more depleted Philadelphia. But the Union got their revenge the following year, when they won 3-1 after falling behind — and after Nick Cushing made some poorly-timed substitutions.

New York City Postseason Record

New York City’s overall playoff record is even for the first time in club history after the team put up two wins and one draw against Charlotte FC in Round One.

Keep in mind that fully six of New York City’s losses came in the early years, when the team had a record of 2W-1D-6L between 2016 and 2020. Those struggles are now a distant memory. NYCFC have a playoff record of 7W-4D-3L since 2021 – or 9W-4L if you sort the playoff shootouts into wins and losses – with 21 goals scored and 13 goals allowed.

Blast from the Past: NYCFC vs Philadelphia is 2021 redux

Once again, New York City FC are missing key starters due to injuries and a suspension. But unlike 5 years ago, this Philadelphia Union squad are fully fit.

Hudson River BlueMatthew Mangam

New York City Scouting Report

• Player Availability: Aiden O’Neill (yellow cards) is suspended. Andrés Perea (broken leg), Alonso Martínez (knee), Malachi Jones (leg), and Keaton Parks (blood flow issues) are Out.
• When Alonso Martínez was unavailable to start against Inter Miami CF and the Red Bulls in late September, it was Nico Fernández Mercau who filled in at striker for the Costa Rican. Is Nico the next striker up? Whoever starts at center-forward will have work to do to cover for the glaring Alonso absence, as NYCFC went 2W-1D-4L with a -4 goal differential in the seven matches in all competitions played without Martínez in the team’s Starting XI, while also being held scoreless in five of those games.
• Another attacking player NYCFC needs to see step up: Maxi Moralez, the experienced attacking midfielder who has a habit of producing memorable moments in the playoffs against Philadelphia. The 38-year-old has three goals and two assists in three career playoff appearances against the Union, scoring goals in each of the team’s last two playoff visits to Subaru Park in 2021 and 2022. Moralez will play his 22nd career MLS Cup Playoff match if he appears in this Semifinal – his 21 career playoff games have him in the Top 10 among all active MLS players.
• Who else plays in the midfield with Maxi? Without Perea or O’Neill available, hard choices need to be made by Pascal Jansen: Does Justin Haak ditch central defense and go back to being a defensive midfielder, or does 18-year-old Jonny Shore get his first start since July 25, when he scored his first MLS goal in a win at FC Dallas?
• New York City can’t host another game in these MLS Cup Playoffs even if they make it all the way to the MLS Cup Final. It might not be a kiss of death, though, as the club is enjoying an incredible run of away form with five wins from their last six road matches – their only away loss since August was the 1-0 defeat they suffered on their last trip to Subaru Park in early October.

Striker choices loom large for New York City FC

NYCFC not only need to fill in the Alonso Martínez-sized hole for Sunday’s matchup against Philadelphia Union, they need to find a No 9 to carry the team into 2026.

Hudson River BlueAndrew Leigh

Philadelphia Scouting Report

• Player Availability: Quinn Sullivan (torn ACL) is Out. Alejandro Bedoya (hamstring) is Questionable.
• The Union won the Supporters’ Shield on the strength of their home record and their defense: Philadelphia picked up 40 points from 17 home matches in the regular season, tied for the most with Charlotte FC, and only lost once at Subaru Park this season while posting a +21 goal differential. The goal differential is lopsided at home, but that’s because the Union only conceded 35 goals during the regular season, the fewest in all of MLS.
• One of the Union’s more effective players is 23-year-old forward Bruno Damiani. It’s not just that the Uruguayan provided seven goals and two assists this season, it’s his world-class shithousing. Look for Damiani to wind up Thiago Martins, Raul Gustavo, and Matt Freese when he’s not on the ball.
• Philadelphia had a major off-field controversy swirling around the club this week in the lead-up to this clash with NYCFC, as the Union placed their Sporting Director, Ernst Tanner, on administrative leave after a bombshell report from Pablo Iglesias Maurer of The Guardian revealed that Tanner is alleged to have engaged in sexist, racist and homophobic behavior, according to a complaint from the MLS Players’ Association that was filed with MLS back in January.
• For more on what you can expect on the field from Philadelphia in this do-or-die knockout match, read our latest installment of Oppo Research, in which our Matthew Mangam catches up on Philly with Evan Konigsberg of Philadelphia Soccer Now.

Oppo Research: 5 Things about Philadelphia Union

Confidence is high in Philadelphia as a full-strength Union look to move past a New York City hurt by missing players and advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

Hudson River BlueMatthew Mangam