The Philadelphia Union exercised a massive demon in their lives, and are on their way to their first MLS Cup Final in team history. For Philadelphia, the match on Saturday was a long time coming for the club.

The Philadelphia Union have been one of the best outfits in the MLS for a few years now. From 2014 to 2018, they made the US Open Cup Final three times. In 2020, they won the Supporters Shield as the best regular season team in the league.

Despite that success, the 2020 Supporters Shield represents the club's only major trophy. This year, they took advantage of their first-round bye given their status as the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Eastern Conference Semifinals saw the Philadelphia Union take on FC Cincinnati. It was Cincinnati's first appearance in the MLS playoffs, but they fell 1-0 to the Union.

Philadelphia then eliminated defending MLS Cup Champions NYCFC in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Final. That victory set up a match-up against the Western Conference's top seed, LAFC.

Without any further ado, here are two clear reasons the Philadelphia Union have the edge to win the 2022 MLS Cup.

2 clear reasons Philadelphia Union have edge to win MLS Cup

2) Defense, defense, defense

The Philadelphia Union have a lot of strengths in their squad. One of their biggest strengths is their defensive spine. They have one of the most skilled backlines in the MLS today.

This starts in goal, where the team sends out Andre Blake. Blake was named the 2022 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. It's an award he has won three times in his career. He is the only goalkeeper to win the honor on three occasions.

In front of Blake is the vaunted Philadelphia Union backline. Jakob Glesnes, the 2022 MLS Defender of the Year headlines this unit. Next to him is Jack Elliott, who anchors the left side of this centre-back partnership.

Philadelphia's fullbacks are also spectacular. Kai Wagner is one of the best in the league, and has been linked with a move to Premier League side Leeds United. Olivier Mbazio, a Cameroon international, is likely to play a prominent role with his national team at the World Cup.

Even in the midfield, the Philadelphia Union are excellent defensively. This is thanks to Jose Martinez, who is one of if not the best defensive midfielders in the league.

Scoring goals against this team is not easy. They led the MLS in clean sheets with 15 and save percentage with a 79.4% mark. The Union also paced the league with 385 interceptions as a team.

LAFC are surely a talented team, and they have a lot of talent in attack. However, they have a tall order ahead of them trying to crack this defensive unit in this MLS Cup Final.

1) Dictation of play

For as good as Philadelphia is in defense, they have similar quality in attack. This collection of talent allows them to dictate play as they please. And there may be no better team in MLS history when it comes to dictating play.

The main goal of the Union is to get their opponent to overexert themselves. They want their opponent to go all out, whether its in pursuit of a goal or in pursuit of possession. This places their opponent in the palm of their hands, and allows them to play the game they want to play.

There are a few ways the Union can play, as well. Their preferred style of play is to send long balls of the top of the defense toward multiple runners utilizing the open space they create. And with their speed, they're usually successful.

However, this club possesses the quality to create pressure traps. They can suck the defense on one side of the pitch before sending the ball long to a waiting fullback on the other side. This fullback then can pick out a runner and split apart the defense.

LAFC will certainly have to establish control early on if they want to win the MLS Cup. That will not be easy against a squad of Philadelphia's quality.