DC United will be bidding to record just their seventh victory of the current MLS season when they head to New England Revolution on Saturday night.
The visitors are bottom of the Eastern Conference, boasting just 22 points from their 23 league fixtures, while New England sit 10th, eight points above their opponents in this contest.
Match preview
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New England were comfortably the best side in the Eastern Conference last season, winning 22, drawing five and losing seven of their 34 regular-season fixtures to claim 73 points, which saw them finish first, some 19 points ahead of second-place Philadelphia Union.
The Revs were beaten by New York City FC in the quarter-finals of the playoffs, though, which made it a disappointing finish to what had been a very impressive 2021 season.
New England have been unable to replicate that form in the current season, with a record of seven wins, nine draws and seven defeats from 23 matches seeing them collect 30 points, which is only enough for 10th position in the table, 15 points behind the leaders Philadelphia Union.
Bruce Arena's side lost back-to-back matches to New York City FC and Philadelphia Union in the middle of July but are now unbeaten in their last three, drawing 0-0 with both Columbus Crew and Toronto before recording a 3-0 victory over Orlando City last weekend.
A strong performance from the visitors saw Matt Polster, Wilfrid Kaptoum and Henry Kessler get their names on the scoresheet, and Arena will now be hoping that his side can embark on a winning run.
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DC United, meanwhile, have had Wayne Rooney at the helm since the middle of July, with the club's former forward taking charge of three games in total, boasting a record of one win, one draw and one defeat.
The Black and Reds finished eighth in the Eastern Conference last season, but they are currently bottom of the table, picking up just 22 points from 23 matches during a tough season.
The Washington outfit recorded a 2-1 victory over Orlando City at the end of July but then suffered a 3-0 defeat at Charlotte FC in their opening MLS match of August.
DC United will enter this contest off the back of a goalless draw with New York Red Bulls, and they have another four matches before the end of the month, taking on New England, Los Angeles FC, Philadelphia Union and Atlanta United before a trip to New York City FC on September 1.
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Team News
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New England will be missing Jacob Jackson on Saturday due to a leg injury, while Dylan Borrero and Gustavo Bou remain doubts for the home side due to knocks.
Due to the manner of the performance against Orlando last time out, it would not be a surprise to see Arena send the same starting XI onto the field for this match.
Arnor Traustason is perhaps the player pushing hardest to break into the side, but it might be a case of same again here, with Justin Rennicks again playing through the middle for Revolution.
As for DC United, Rooney has a number of absentees, with Brad Smith, Bill Hamid, Hayden Sargis, Jacob Greene and Adrien Perez all on the sidelines for this match.
Jackson Hopkins is also a doubt with the issue that forced him off in the first half against New York Red Bulls last time out, which could see Taxiarchis Fountas come into the side.
There should be another start in midfield for former Man United youngster Ravel Morrison, while Miguel Berry is expected to lead the attack for the side at the bottom of the division.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Bye, Farrell, Kessler, Jones; Kaptoum, Polster, Maciel; Gil, Rennicks, McNamara
DC United possible starting lineup:
Romo; Najar, Birnbaum, Alfaro, Smith; Durkin, Djeffal, Morrison; Fountas, Berry, Rodriguez
We say: New England Revolution 2-1 DC United
New England were excellent against Orlando City last time out, so they should have momentum coming into this contest. DC United are capable of picking up a positive result on Saturday, but we believe that the home side will have enough quality to pick up an important three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
