Crew-Union Preview

The Philadelphia Union need to pass three teams in their final three matches to make the postseason, yet their fate remains almost entirely in their own hands.

That's because two of those matches will be played against the Columbus Crew, the current holders of the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. The first comes Saturday night in Philadelphia with the Crew looking to assure themselves of at least a three-point cushion entering the final two games of the season.

The Crew (11-10-10) are in fifth in the East with 43 points while the Union (9-10-12) are in eighth with 39. Toronto has 40 and Houston has 39 with two more wins than Philadelphia.

"All of them are must wins; all of them," Union defender Ray Gaddis told the club's official website. "The Columbus series is a must-win, and Kansas City we have to win. (These past few games have felt) like a playoff game and all of these matches coming up are going to be the same way. We have the role of determining our own fate."

It's been made trickier by a four-match winless streak that has resulted in three draws and a loss, including a 1-1 final at home against Chicago on Oct. 2. The Union grabbed a late lead with Amobi Okugo's 88th-minute goal, but gave it right back in stoppage time.

Columbus failed to take further strides toward wrapping up a playoff berth in Saturday's 2-1 loss at New England. That wasn't all they lost as attacking midfielder Federico Higuain was yellow carded and left back Waylon Francis was red carded, and both will miss the Philadelphia match due to suspension. Francis will miss two matches.

"It's unfortunate that Waylon's missing these two games," coach Gregg Berhalter told the club's official website. "He was in good form. It's too bad."

Their scoring came from Ethan Finlay in the 25th minute, his third in four games and ninth of the season, which have all come in his last 20 contests.

"He's got speed and that's something you really can't coach," Union interim coach Jim Curtin said. "He really threatens the back line. So Higuain being out and being the guy that can kind of find him playing through balls helps us. That's an advantage, but Finlay is definitely someone we're strongly focusing on going into the weekend, trying to neutralize him."

That task could be easier at home, where Philadelphia has gone 4-0-5 since June 7 in league play.

Columbus, meanwhile, is 1-6-6 on the road since opening the season with victories in their first two away dates. This will be the second of three straight on the road before playing the finale at home against the Union on Oct. 26.

"We're going to go to Philly and we're going to play our game and control it in their stadium and hopefully get a result and get on the board earlier," midfielder Justin Meram said.

Columbus won the first meeting 2-1 at home on March 22 with a pair of first-half goals from Bernardo Anor.