DC United host the newly resurgent Chicago Fire in an Eastern Conference Clash on different sides of the MLS Standings.
In the past few years, DC United has dominated games against the Chicago Fire, going undefeated since June of 2015 with three wins and three draws. This season, though, might see a change. The Chicago Fire are a brand new side compared to the past few years and are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference, just two points behind second-place Orlando City. DC United, on the other hand, have had a hard start to the 2017 season and are in tenth place in the East, just one point above last-place Montreal. Both sides are looking to grab all three points to move put the table.
DC United
Current Record (W-D-L): 3-2-5
Last Time Out: 0-4 loss to the Philadelphia Union
Player to Watch For: Lamar Neagle. Neagle, who hasn’t played too much this season so far, will have to come up big as he is the most likely to come in for the suspended Luciano Acosta. There will be space open on the wing for him to roam and if he can play out wide similarly to how he played with the Seattle Sounders, he could have a lot of success today.
Why They Win: DC United is really going to have to take advantage of being at home. Two of their three wins came from home games by a 2-1 score line. Bill Hamid will show why many consider him to be one of the next up and coming USMNT goalkeeper and keep the game close and the home crowd will push DC to get a late goal.
Why They Won’t: DC has had a very hard time scoring as of late, scoring one goal in the past three games. Now add in the fact that Luciano Acosta will be out, it looks like DC won’t be able to score at all. And if you can’t score against Chicago, you aren’t going to get a result since Chicago have scored a goal in every game since the end of March.
Predicted Starting XI:
Projected DC United Line-up ahead of #DCvCHI pic.twitter.com/zgnXqq87a2
— Matt (@MattSoccerTalk) May 20, 2017
Chicago Fire
Current Record (W-D-L): 5-3-3
Last Time Out: 3-0 win at the Colorado Rapids
Player to Watch: Nemanja Nikolic. Nikolic is on fire (no pun intended). He is currently on top of the MLS Golden Boot Race with ten goals in 11 games with one assist to top it off. DC United’s backline is shaky at best so expect Nikolic to take full advantage of it.
Why They Win: Chicago has a very strong front line that will just be too much for the DC backline. With Accam and Nikolic running at them, they are bound to score a few goals.
Why They Don’t: For as good as Chicago has looked this year, they have yet to win on the road. They also played a home game on Wednesday against the Colorado Rapids and even though Chicago is close to DC comparatively, it is still a long trip. Chicago will have some tired legs out there.
Predicted Starting XI:
Projected Chicago lineup for #DCvCHI pic.twitter.com/ZOocIdOb4H
— Matt (@MattSoccerTalk) May 20, 2017
Prediction
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How to Watch
Where: RFK Stadium, Washington DC
When: Saturday, May 20, 4:00 PM (Eastern)
Channel: Unimás, Univision Deportes USA, MLS Live, Facebook Live