Key players missing on both sides of Philadelphia Union- DC United clash

Between international duty and injuries, a lot of typical starters will be absent Saturday

Important players will be missing on either side of the field when the Union take on DC United tonight.

Philadelphia remains without the Jamaican trio of Andre Blake, Cory Burke, and Alvas Powell, who are with their national team at the Gold Cup. It appears as if they won’t be back for awhile after Jamaica’s 2-0 start, which has secured them progression to the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Jack de Vries and Anthony Fontana are both still under concussion protocol, putting them out of Saturday’s lineup. De Vries hasn’t played yet this season, while Fontana got his concussion against Atlanta United on June 20.

Ilsinho, however, is finally listed as “questionable.” The crafty winger has only played 10 minutes all campaign, and went through surgery in May. Not listed are goalkeeper Matt Freese and Jamiro Monteiro, who are both suspended.

Luckily for the Union, DC United will be missing a lot of players as well.

Designated players Edison Flores and Paul Arriola headline Hernan Losada’s player availability report. Like the Jamaican’s on Philadelphia, Arriola is off to a successful start at the Gold Cup. However, Arriola hurt his leg early in the United State’s tournament opener against Haiti, and was replaced by Nicholas Gioacchini. He is joined at the USMNT camp by 23 year-old defender Donovan Pines.

Brendan Hines-Ike and Erik Sorga are also unavailable for Losada. They are both at least semi-regular contributors with DC; Hines-Ike has played nearly 1,000 minutes thus far in 2021.

Saturday’s game will be an important fixture in both team’s season, and it is unfortunate that it won’t be played at full strength. However, this gives certain Union players the opportunity to impress Jim Curtin.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:38 p.m. and will be broadcast live on PHL17 and PhiladelphiaUnion.com locally and on ESPN+ out of market.