The Colorado Rapids (8-10-6, 30 pts., 7th West) travel to the east coast for an inter-conference matchup with the Philadelphia Union (14-5-5, 47 pts., 3rd East) on Saturday night. Kickoff at Subaru Park is set for 5:30 p.m. MT with coverage available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, ColoradoRapids.com, and the Colorado Rapids app.
In what will be the final MLS match before the start of Leagues Cup 2025 for both clubs, there will be an increased sense of urgency as the playoff picture begins to take shape with the end of the regular season quickly approaching. Colorado has maintained their spot at seventh place in the West over the past few weeks while Philadelphia have been in the Supporters’ Shield race at the top of the Eastern Conference for a majority of 2025.
Saturday’s contest will mark the first matchup between these two clubs since the Leagues Cup 2024 Third Place match last summer. Following Colorado’s incredible run in the tournament, the club traveled to Philadelphia with a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup on the line. Goals from Oliver Larraz and Calvin Harris in the match eventually led to a 2-2 scoreline at regulation, bringing the match to a shootout to determine the winner. Stepping up in the shootout was Zack Steffen, who made crucial stops on the Union’s top attackers to seal the victory and secure the club’s CCC berth.
The Rapids are coming off a historic comeback on the road against the Seattle Sounders. After going down 3-0 shortly after the second half began, the Rapids started storming back to try and salvage a point. Leading the charge were Djordje Mihailovic, Cole Bassett, and substitute Darren Yapi, who all found the back of the net within a 25-minute span to eventually tie the match and earn the draw. The comeback marked the first time in MLS history that a club has overcome a three-goal deficit against the Sounders at Lumen Field to eventually earn a draw or win.
On the other end of this matchup will be a Philadelphia side that has been dominant at home so far in 2025. In their 12 matches at Subaru Park in MLS this season, the Union have posted an 8-1-3 record with their only loss coming to Nashville SC back in March. Since that match, Philadelphia has gone unbeaten in their last ten home matches. Their most recent result came on the road against Houston where they played to a 1-1 draw.
Spearheading the Philadelphia attack is All-Star forward Tai Baribo, who leads the club in goals with 14 on the season, and is fourth in the MLS Golden Boot race. Baribo will enter the match fresh off his MLS All-Star Game performance where he scored a goal to earn MVP honors in the matchup against the Liga MX All-Stars.
Since Philadelphia entered the league in 2010, these two sides have had an even record against each other. In their 14 MLS regular season matchups, the clubs have played to an even 4-6-4 record.
