With star Hany Mukhtar reportedly being courted for an overseas payday, Nashville SC hope a return home helps them rebound from another frustrating road loss.
Nashville eyes a ninth straight home victory across all competitions while trying to keep the Philadelphia Union winless over their last five road matches on Wednesday night.
Nashville (11-6-5, 38 points) is second in the Eastern Conference but has lost three of its last four. Each one of those defeats came on the road, most recently a 1-0 setback at Chicago on Saturday.
It was an effort that Nashville coach Gary Smith knows his side can’t repeat.
“There was no confidence and composure in our play,” Smith said.
“We’ve been in a good place … We were a long way off of what we’re capable of.”
It’s been a different story for Nashville at home, where it is 8-0-2 across all competitions dating back to the start of April. Nashville has outscored its opponents 19-4 over the eight-match winning streak, which included two U.S. Open Cup matches.
Mukhtar, who reportedly received a “lucrative” offer from the Qatar Stars League during the current transfer window, has recorded eight of his league-leading 13 goals in 11 home matches.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia (10-7-4, 34 points) is mired in a 1-3-1 stretch.
The Union have been outscored 9-4 during their current 0-3-1 rut on the road after losing 3-1 at the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Union’s last road victory came 3-1 at New York City FC on May 27.
“Right now, we have too many unforced errors,” Union coach Jim Curtin said. “We haven’t put together, on the road, a complete 90 minutes in too many instances this season.”
Philadelphia’s Mikael Uhre scored his seventh goal of the season — and his 20th career MLS regular-season tally — at Los Angeles to snap a four-match scoring drought. He scored in a 1-1 draw at Nashville last season in the teams’ most recent meeting on May 1, 2022.
–Field Level Media
