Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Philadelphia Union

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET | Tickets: http://bit.ly/2lV0vf2

Tampa Bay continues its preseason on Saturday after having previously taken part in the 2017 Florida Cup in January, and faced Orlando City SC in a closed scrimmage last week that saw a number of new faces start coming together for the side. The Rowdies’ performance against Orlando was a positive one, according to new forward Darwin Jones, who said the side “kept pushing at every point and we took the game to them.”

The Union also scrimmaged with Orlando this week, and saw new addition Jay Simpson find the net in addition to returnees Ilsinho and C.J. Sapong. After reaching the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs, the Union have bolstered their squad with the likes of Simpson, and former U.S. international Oguchi Onyewu and former Rowdies midfielder Fafa Picault as they look to make another leap forward in the MLS Eastern Conference this year. After taking a 2-0 win in the same tournament against Tampa Bay a year ago, Philadelphia will be aiming for a similar result this time around.

Player to Watch: Leo Fernandes, Tampa Bay Rowdies

An offseason addition to Tampa Bay’s squad, Fernandes will likely get to go up against some of his former teammates on Saturday night as the ex-Union midfielder gets acclimated to his new environment. Fernandes made 32 appearances for the Union during his time with the club, while also playing on loan for the Harrisburg City Islanders and for Bethlehem Steel FC in the USL, but this year makes a fresh start with the Rowdies.