Tonight, the Philadelphia Union looks to advance to the next round as they play Deportivo Saprissa in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League. Following a great 1-0 result in the first leg, the Union are in a great spot at home to have another good performance. Kick-off starts at 8:00 PM eastern, and there should be around 5,000 fans in attendance. Union head coach Jim Curtin knows that his team will be ready to defend home turf.

“We have our destiny in our hands on our home field,” Curtin said Tuesday. “We’ve gone through some unique times last year and some challenging environments where sometimes plans change going into games. But in terms of our group, we’ll be ready to go.”

Can Saprissa bounce back?

Heading into the first leg, it was no secret that Saprissa wasn’t playing the best soccer over the past few months. They are now winless in eight games and have to try and turn things around in one game at Subaru Park. Saprissa will be without their captain Mariano Torres and defender Aubrey David to make matters worse.

The first leg didn’t end on a good note, a bench-clearing brawl was started following a dirty tackle by Ricardo Blanco on Kai Wagner. Even though Blanco did apologize on social media, there’s no doubt in my mind that there won’t be tension from the start of this game. 

Union Injury Report

The Union are getting back Sergio Santos from a foot injury however Corey Burke and Illsinho remain out until next week at the earliest. Other than that, the Union will be ready to go for another historic match for the club. 

Prediction: 2-1 Union

I think the Union get it done at home and move to the next round of the CONCACAF Champions League. It will be a physical game, but in the end, the Union are almost unstoppable at home. Saprissa not having several players available for tonight’s game will play a huge impact on the end result.

Catch Union pregame and postgame coverage on Fox Sports The Gambler, the home of the Philadelphia Union and Liberty Line Radio.

Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union