DC United have an opportunity to climb out of the Eastern Conference basement of Major League Soccer with a victory at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday against Charlotte FC.
The Black and Red left it late against Orlando City, scoring twice in stoppage time as Wayne Rooney collected his first victory as manager, while the Crown had their match versus the Columbus Crew postponed because of severe weather.
Match preview
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A series of poor halves pushed Charlotte to the outside of the playoff picture, as they conceded four times in the opening 45 minutes versus Toronto, losing 4-0, after allowing three goals in the final 30 minutes against Inter Miami in a 3-2 defeat.
They still find themselves in contention for a playoff spot, trailing FC Cincinnati by three points and now with a game in hand.
Their next two matches will be played at home, where Christian Lattanzio's men have earned 21 of their 26 points this season.
Bank of America Stadium has acted like a 12th man for this side, who have used that large venue to their advantage, conceding a goal or fewer on nine occasions while posting four clean sheets.
Creativity has not been this team's strong suit in their inaugural campaign, as they have scored the joint second-fewest goals in MLS (25).
Charlotte have only captured one victory on the road this season, though they have been close numerous times, dropping six away matches this year by a single goal.
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The Black and Red are the latest beneficiaries of the new coach bump, as DC became the 10th team in league history to win when trailing heading into injury time.
With that triumph, Wayne Rooney's team ended a five-match winless run in all competitions in what has been a challenging time for the franchise.
While a win is nice, the Englishman needs to find a solution to his team's defensive woes, as they have allowed 44 goals this year, the second-most in the league, including a total of 20 in their previous six matches played in all competitions.
Early goals have plagued this team of late, with the Black and Red conceding within the opening 15 minutes in four of their last five MLS affairs, and those goals have forced them to be more aggressive, leaving them exposed at the back.
Most of their attacking plays have filtered through their dynamic Designated Player from Greece, Taxiarchis Fountas, who has tallied more than a third of their goals this season.
If they want a shot to get back into the playoff picture, the following three games will be critical as they take on three teams above them in the Eastern Conference (Charlotte, the New York Red Bulls and the New England Revolution).
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Team News
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In their last MLS home game to be completed, Charlotte got contributions from four different players as Christian Fuchs, Karol Swiderski, Sergio Ruiz and Andre Shinyashiki all scored in a 4-1 triumph over Nashville SC.
Ben Bender continues to be one of their main creators in the midfield, leading them with five assists, though Jordy Alcivar is first for them when it comes to key passes with 20, while Jaylin Lindsey has 15.
Fuchs was supposed to sit out of their match versus Columbus because of a red card suspension, while Adam Armour (left knee surgery) and Vinicius Mello (left foot surgery) will both miss this encounter through injury.
Chris Durkin notched his first of the year for DC last weekend, while their Designated Player Taxiarchis Fountas picked up the winner in the 95th minute, his team-leading 11th of the campaign.
New signing Ravel Morrison made his Black and Red debut, playing the entire 90 minutes, home-grown Player Jackson Hopkins made his fifth career start for DC United, while Ola Kamara and Kimarni Smith both picked up assists.
Brad Smith remains sidelined with a knee issue, Bill Hamid will be out long-term due to a problem in his hand and Adrien Perez continues to nurse a foot injury.
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahlina; Lindsey, Corujo, Walkes, Mora; Bronico, Alcivar, Hegardt, Bender, Reyna; Swiderski
DC United possible starting lineup:
Romo; Odoi-Atsem, Birnbaum, Hines-Ike, Najar; Morrison, Durkin, Rodriguez, Hopkins; Berry, Fountas
We say: Charlotte FC 1-2 DC United
Even though Charlotte seem to play their best in front of their fans, DC should have the momentum on their side after their previous match, which we believe will lead them to victory against a Crown side who should not present too many problems for the Black and Red in the final third.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
