Philadelphia Union coach Jim Curtin held his weekly press conference as his side host the Columbus Crew on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST. Both squads are depleted due to the international break.
The Crew are without Zack Steffan (minor injury), Gyasi Zardes and Wil Trapp. Meanwhile, the Union will miss Sergio Santos (injury), Andre Blake, Cory Burke, Warren Creavalle, Matt Real, and Derrick Jones.
It leaves Curtin with a selection problem. Because of the absences, Curtin has about 19 first team players available for selection.
The biggest question surrounding the squad is if Jamiro Monteiro can get his green card before the match.
“To be clear on Jamiro, he’s not 100 percent cleared yet, but we’re confident it will be sorted before kickoff,” Curtin said. “So it’s another international spot. You have the situation where you can loan players down to the Steel. We could get caught in a scenario – who’s healthy, who’s not – where we might have to have one less player in the 18. We have every scenario covered.”
With Santos injured and Burke competing with Jamaica, Curtin has just Fafa Picault in the striker position. David Accam and Kacper Przybylko are options to join the starting XI, and even Marco Fabian could play in a more attacking position.
“We’ve talked about playing with one striker and playing with two and how we can best get after Columbus,” Curtin said. “It’s clear that this week, guys who haven’t gotten minutes yet will be called upon to be starters.
We’re operating right now that he [Marco Fabian] will be available for us. He can operate as a second forward, he’s done it for Frankfurt, Brendan Aaronson has proven that he belongs on the field as well – could be on the tip of the diamond, on the corner of the diamond, as the 10 again depending on others availability. Marco will be operating as part of our group, he’s looked good and sharp in training, as has Jamiro, who is back with the group after taking care of some things in Canada.”
Curtin mentioned that an emergency loan may be on the cards, but that the team is in a good position for now to avoid it, barring any injuries.
Defending in box has been the focus in 2019, and the Union has improved in that zone since the Toronto match according to Curtin, but there is still room for improvement. He used the goal in Atlanta as a teaching moment on how the defense can pass along responsibilities faster, but other than the two shots on goal, was impressive.
There is a good chance that both Brenden Aaronson and Marco Fabian play in attacking roles on Saturday.
Below is a possible line up for Saturday if things go as predicted.
Coronel
Gaddis, Elliott, Trusty, Wagner
Medunjanin
Bedoya, Monteiro
Aaronson
Fabian, Picault
