Philadelphia Union coach Jim Curtin had his game plan altered for Wednesday’s trip to Avaya Stadium to take on the San Jose Earthquakes before he could finalize it.
Injuries suffered by Mark McKenzie and Sergio Santos and the suspensions of San Jose’s Cristian Espinoza and Chris Wondolowski opened up a new realm of lineup possibilities.
“A lot of variables go into it so it’s tough to have your plan lined up,” Curtin said Tuesday. “You have your ideas on how you want to attack the game formation-wise and player-wise. Then 90 minutes can change how your plan goes.”
The Union will go in with a more aggressive mindset after losing to the New York Red Bulls, in need of points to stay alive in the hunt for the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the Eastern Conference. But Curtin believes San Jose will be up for the match as well.
“I think it’s two-fold,” Curtin said. “It definitely changed our thinking when the two red cards happened. But it also is going to be a rallying cry for them. They’re in a tough run of form obviously, but they are still a very good team. They’ve been on the hard end of some tough results lately.”
“Wondo is an incredible player. Espinoza, I feel like, especially on the east coast because you don’t get to watch him play, he has been an unbelievable signing and player,” Curtin said. “Dynamic 1-v-1, their engine, can score a goal from nothing. It’s an advantage for (us for) them to be missing them, but it becomes a rallying cry for San Jose and it certainly changed the way we approached the game as well, as did an injury or two to us.”
The Union brought 21 players to San Jose, three more than the typical 18 they carry on road trips, to keep continuity in training, but do not expect a full squad rotation at Avaya Stadium.
Haris Medunjanin, Jack Elliott, Alejandro Bedoya and Kacper Przybylko are likely to be in the starting lineup. Curtin noted the high-volume players are fresh for the three-game swing that started at Red Bull Arena.
Medunjanin and Elliott have played all 2,790 minutes this season, while Bedoya has missed one due to yellow-card accumulation. Przybylko has gone the full 90 in 21 of his 23 starts.
“Our key guys are still going to be on the field,” Curtin said. “Our guys who have logged a majority of minutes are fine to go with three games in a week.”
The changes are likely to occur in midfield, or fullback, the high-volume positions in the Union setup.
“It’ll be the players in positions we demand a lot of from the physical side we’ll have a few changes,” Curtin said.
Forward Andrew Wooten, who missed out on the 18 Sunday to Marco Fabian, could feature in a larger role with Santos injured and a switch from the 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2 diamond midfield is possible.
In an August win at D.C. United, Wooten and Przybylko combined well in a match that produced five goals.
“Wednesday night’s game will be a big opportunity for a few guys,” Curtin said. “We’re going to call upon our full roster. It’s a big opportunity for Andrew and some other guys to step up. They’ve given us good performances over the year when we’ve needed them.”
Fabian is a candidate to move into the starting midfield alongside Bedoya, Medunjanin and Jamiro Monteiro, who would slide out to the edge of the diamond so the Mexican playmaker can be in the No. 10 spot.
A two-striker formation would allow Wooten to play up top with Przybylko and have Fafa Picault come off the bench along with Brenden Aaronson and Ilsinho.
In defense, Aurelien Collin is the likely replacement for McKenzie, who could play as early as Sunday in Columbus after a hamstring scare. Collin is still ahead of Auston Trusty on the depth chart.
Even though Trusty may not start, Curtin still hopes the Homegrown defender can play a role down the stretch after a positive meeting the two had a few weeks back.
“We talked for 20-30 minutes,” Curtin said. “He expressed his wanting to stay in Philadelphia to help the team and get back into the lineup and all these things. It’s a real good conversation and he’s now improved his training in the last two weeks.
“Having said that, we’ve picked Collin over him to travel and be with the 18 (for recent road games),” Curtin said. “As of right now, that order is the same. We’re going to need all of our guys, depending on how Mark is, to be ready and play against San Jose and a quick turnaround against Columbus.”