@BurrOaks77's Wednesday MLS Picks - 8/31

The Philadelphia Union have been an absolute wagon lately. They hold an MLS leading goal differential of +37 and have won their last two matches 6-0. Leading the charge is Daniel Gazdag who is coming off his first career hat trick vs Colorado. Gazdag has had nine goals in his last nine games. He’s also The Union’s PK taker and has been mispriced as a CAM most of the year. Gazdag is currently tied as the third leading goal scorer in the MLS with 16 goals to his name. The Union’s next best offensive weapon is Julian Carranza. The 22 year old Miami transfer is having a breakout season with 13 goals and seven assists. Carranza isn’t afraid to mix it up either, and has ninne yellow cards to his name. Philly also has arguably the best keeper in the league in Andre Blake. So not only can the Union score at an extremely high clip, but when their offense sputters, they can rely on the defense to do a great job as well.

Atlanta has been riddled with injury the entire season. Unfortunately, that can’t be an excuse for the front office or club supporters. Atlanta has one of the highest payrolls in the MLS and playoffs are a minimum expectation on this club. After last year’s coaching scandal and making the first round of the playoffs, the expectation was to build on that momentum this year. The one thing Atlanta can still rely on is having one of the most elite goal scorers in the MLS. King Josef Martinez has seven goals on the year and has struggled to consistently be on the field. When he is healthy, it's easy to see that he’s one of the most elite strikers in the league. He holds the MLS record for being the fastest player to reach 100 league goals. If the King starts, or even subs on to this game, he’s really the only person I think can slip one behind Blake.