New York City FC vs. DC United | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

New York City FC vs. D.C. United
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 28
Yankee Stadium — Bronx
Sept. 8 — 4:55 pm ET
WATCH: Univision, Twitter, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

In what could be a possible MLS Cup Playoffs preview, New York City FC are looking to rebound from its first losing streak in two years when they take on a D.C. United squad that is three points below the playoff line with three games in hand on sixth-place Montreal.

NYCFC are coming off a first home loss of the season, dropping a 1-0 decision to the New England Revolution Wednesday night and have won just one of their last seven games, while the Black-and-Red are trying to knock off a second straight powerhouse following a 3-1 home win over Atlanta United Sunday.

NYCFC have the slight advantage in the all-time series against D.C. United (4W-3L-0D). United, however, have won two of the last three games against the Cityzens, despite being outscored 6-5 in those three games.

New York City FC

NYCFC (14-8-6) took 28 shots and dominated possession, but they were victims of a smash-and-grab win by the Revolution Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Brian Wright earned his first start and scored his first MLS goal, tapping in the rebound of a saved Cristian Penilla shot for the game’s lone goal in the 70th minute. Although the result is the same as a 2-1 defeat at Columbus last Saturday, Dome Torrent wasn’t as upset after the game.

“Today I’m proud of them because they played really well,” Torrent said. “The difference is you have to be clinical when you have the clear chance. We need to recover our confidence in each other. I’m not angry with them today.”

Suspended: M - Alex Ring
Suspended after next caution: M - Tommy McNamara
International duty: D - Maxime Chanot, M - Rodney Wallace, M - Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, M - Ebenezer Ofori
Injury Report: OUT: M - Yangel Herrera (ankle surgery), D - Cedric Hountondji (hamstring injury), M - Jesus Medina (hamstring injury), F - Jo Inge Berget (adductor injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Sean Johnson — Anton Tinnerholm, Sebastien Ibeagha, Alex Callens, Ben Sweat — James Sands, Tommy McNamara, Maxi Moralez — Jonathan Lewis, David Villa, Valentin Castellanos

Notes: NYCFC took 28 shots (inc. blocks) in Wednesday’s shutout loss, tied for the second-most shots a MLS team has taken in a shutout loss in league play since 2010. … New York City have just one win in their last seven MLS games (4L-2D), failing to keep a single clean sheet in that time.

D.C. United

D.C. United (8-11-6) continued to climb the ladder in the Eastern Conference and now reside in seventh place, just six points below the playoff line with nine games remaining in the regular season.

The Black-and-Red picked up their most impressive win of the season Sunday, beating Atlanta United, 3-1, at Audi Field. After Jeff Larentowicz canceled out Luciano Acosta’s opening goal, Wayne Rooney put the hosts in front from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute and Acosta bagged his brace in the 77th minute.

“It was our most complete and disciplined performance of the season… it was a full group effort from the beginning to the end,” Ben Olsen said. “Against teams like Atlanta, if you don’t give that type of effort and aren't in-sync the way we were for a majority of the match, you can see how they [Atlanta] have the points they have.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Paul Arriola, M - Chris Durkin
International duty: M - Paul Arriola, M - Zoltan Stieber, F - Darren Mattocks, D - Oniel Fisher, M - Junior Moreno, F - Bruno Miranda
Injury Report: OUT: D - Taylor Kemp (labrum surgery), D - Nick DeLeon (knee injury), GK - David Ousted (elbow surgery), D - Chris Odoi-Atsem (fatigue); QUESTIONABLE: M - Yamil Asad (ankle injury); PROBABLE: F - Dane Kelly (ankle injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Bill Hamid — Vytas, Steve Birnbaum, Kofi Opare, Joseph Mora — Russell Canouse, Chris Durkin — Ian Harkes, Luciano Acosta, Ulises Segura — Wayne Rooney

Notes: Rooney is tied for the fifth-most goals+assists for D.C. United with nine (four goals and five assists), despite playing just 11 games. No other player in the top five for United has played fewer than 22 games. … D.C. United have lost just two of their last eight games (5W-1D). Over this period, United have won each of their five games in which they have scored multiple goals.

All-Time Series

Overall: New York City FC 4 wins, 15 goals … D.C. United 3 wins, 10 goals … 0 draws
At New York City: NYCFC 3 wins, 10 goals … D.C. United 0 wins, 3 goals … 0 draws
Last meeting at New York City: New York City FC 4, D.C. United 0 (March 12, 2017)