DC United vs. New York Red Bulls | 2018 MLS Match Preview

DC United vs. New York Red Bulls
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 22
Audi Field — Washington
July 25 - 8 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

After opening Audi Field in style with a 3-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC, D.C. United look to rebound from a loss at Atlanta United by the same scoreline when they welcome their Atlantic Cup rivals the New York Red Bulls to the nation’s capital for a midweek clash.

The Red Bulls have won back-to-back games and five of their last six games after knocking off the New England Revolution, 2-0, at Red Bull Arena Saturday night.

Since D.C. United pulled off a 2-0 win at home against the Red Bulls in May 2016, New York is 2W-3D against D.C., averaging 2.2 goals per game, per Opta.

• DC United feel sense of urgency before RBNY clash
• RBNY keep rolling under new coach
• Trust and belief act as catalysts to Red Bulls success
• Red Bulls ready to 'keep momentum going' against D.C.

DC United

Wayne Rooney earned his first MLS start, but D.C. United (3-8-5) were unable to carry the momentum from the Audi Field opener with them to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, losing to Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta United on Saturday afternoon.

Zoltan Stieber opened the scoring in the 8th minute with his fourth goal of the season, but Josef Martinez equalized on the half-hour mark before tacking on two more goals after the break for his record-breaking sixth MLS hat trick.

“I think we played OK, but OK doesn’t cut it against Atlanta,” Ben Olsen said. “You have to make plays that matter in both boxes, defensively and offensively, and I didn’t think we did that enough to get points out of tonight. They are a dynamic and well-coached team and they’re in the spot they are for a reason."

• Suspended: None
• Suspended after next caution: None
• International duty: None
• Injury Report: OUT: D - Taylor Kemp (labrum surgery), D - Nick DeLeon (knee injury); PROBABLE: D - Chris Odoi-Atsem (compartment release surgery), M - Ulises Segura (knee injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-1-4–1, right to left)
GK: David Ousted — Oniel Fisher, Frederic Brillant, Steve Birnbaum, Joseph Mora — Chris Durkin — Zoltan Stieber, Paul Arriola, Luciano Acosta, Yamil Asad — Wayne Rooney

• Notes: D.C. United have allowed an average of 17.1 shots and 5.7 shots on target this season, the most and third most in MLS, respectively. … D.C. United are unbeaten in their three MLS home games (2W-1D), one of five MLS teams without a home loss this year – though their three home games are the fewest of any team. They have won just one of their last seven MLS games overall (3L-3D).

New York Red Bulls

The Red Bulls (12-5-2) broke through for a pair of late goals to defeat the Revolution on a rainy Saturday night at Red Bull Arena, where they improved to 8-1-1 this season. 

Danny Royer tapped in a perfectly-placed free kick by Marc Rzatkowski at the back post to open the scoring in the 69th minute and Bradley Wright-Phillips latched onto a floated ball into the box for the 80th-minute insurance goal. It was his career goal No. 99 and the league-leading 12th assist for Kaku.

“We’ll be ready to keep the momentum going," Chris Armas said. "Every game is important, and of course, against DC. We know that they’re always a difficult opponent, and in our minds, in a really good way right now, so we’ll have our work cut out for us.”

• Suspended: None
• Suspended after next caution: D - Tim Parker
• International duty: None
• Injury Report: OUT: M - Florian Valot (torn left ACL), D - Kyle Duncan (torn right ACL), M - Vincent Bezecourt (MCL sprain)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Luis Robles — Michael Murillo, Tim Parker, Aaron Long, Kemar Lawrence — Tyler Adams, Sean Davis — Danny Royer, Kaku, Marc Rzatkowski — Bradley Wright-Phillips

• Notes: With his next goal, Wright-Phillips will become the 11th player in MLS history with 100 goals in his career. He has six goals in 12 league appearances against D.C. United. … The Red Bulls have won five of their last six MLS games (1L), conceding just four goals and keeping three of their seven clean sheets in 2018 in that time.

All-Time Series

• Overall: D.C. United 34 wins, 132 goals … New York Red Bulls 27 wins, 110 goals … 13 draws
• At D.C.: D.C. United 21 wins, 77 goals … Red Bulls 11 wins, 57 goals … 6 draws
• Last meeting at D.C.: D.C. United 1, New York Red Bulls 2 (Oct. 22, 2017)

Officials

Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho, Jeremy Kieso
4th Official: Silviu Petrescu
VAR: Fotis Bazakos