Toronto FC vs. Philadelphia Union Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 10/27/21
Toronto battled to a 1-1 draw at home against Montreal on Saturday. Jozy Altidore scored in the final seconds of stoppage time in the second half on a free-kick to rally Toronto to a draw and a share of the spoils. Toronto is out of playoff contention as the club sits next to last in the Eastern Conference standings ahead of only FC Cincinnati. Toronto will play without Ayo Akinola, Ralph Priso, Tsubasa Endoh, Achara, Omar Gonzalez and Yeferson Soteido. Dom Dwyer is questionable.
Philadelphia defeated Nashville 1-0 at home on Saturday in their most recent MLS fixture. Kacper Przybylko scored on a penalty kick in the first half for the only goal of the match, giving Philadelphia all three points. The Union are in second place in the Eastern Conference tied on points with Nashville but has two more victories than Nashville. Philadelphia will play without Cory Burke, Ilsinho and Alvas Powell, while Sergio Santos and Andre Blake are questionable.
Toronto Playing Spoilers at This Point
Toronto is 13th in the MLS Eastern Conference standings with a record of 6-8-17, 26 points and a -25 goal difference. Toronto is out of playoff contention but could act as a spoiler as they will be facing a Philadelphia club that is battling for a second place in the conference. However, Toronto is winless in each of its last three matches and has taken only one point out of a possible 9 over that span.
Toronto has two victories, one draw and a pair of losses over the last five matches in the MLS. Jonathan Osorio is the goal-scoring leader for Toronto with 4 and six other players including Jozy Altidore, Omar Gonzalez and Marky Delgado each have three goals. Yeferson Soteldo, who is out injured, is the leader in assists with 6 and Alejandro Pozuelo has 4. Goalkeeper Alex Bono has appeared in 24 of Toronto's 31 matches and has allowed 42 goals.
Philadelphia attempting to secure second place
Philadelphia is second in the Eastern Conference of the MLS with a record of 13-10-8, 49 points and a +11 goal difference. Philadelphia is tied on points with Nashville but has 13 wins compared to 11 for Nashville. Philadelphia is unbeaten in seven of its last eight MLS fixtures with only a 3-2 loss to Minnesota during that span. With only three matches remaining in the regular season for Philadelphia, the Union needs to take as many points as possible to secure a good spot in the postseason.
Over its last five matches played in the MLS, Philadelphia has three victories, one draw and one loss. Kacper Przybylko is the leading goal scorer for Philadelphia with 11, while Sergio Santos (questionable) has 5 and Cory Burke has scored 4. Jamiro Monteiro is the leader in assists for Philadelphia with 6. Goalkeeper Andre Blake (questionable) has appeared in 24 of Philadelphia's 32 matches this season and has allowed only 21 goals.
Pick: Philadelphia +170
Philadelphia has far more incentive to take all three points in this match as the Union are in a dogfight with Nashville for second place in the MLS Eastern Conference. Philadelphia easily defeated Toronto in the first meeting between the two 3-0 on August 4 in Philadelphia. Toronto has struggled with one draw and two losses in each of its last free matches. In contrast, Philadelphia is unbeaten in seven of its last 8 with only a 3-2 loss to Minnesota thrown in. Philadelphia's unbeaten in three of the last four on the road.
Total: Over
Philadelphia has seen the goal total exceed 2.5 in four of the last five matches and in the first meeting between Philadelphia and Toronto three goals were scored. The 2.5 goals per match threshold has been exceeded in three of Toronto's last five matches.