Two sides who have had a contrasting start to the 2025 Major League Soccer campaign square off on Saturday night as DC United and FC Cincinnati go head to head at Audi Field.
While the Black-and-Red have lost each of their last three outings, the visitors head into the weekend looking to secure a third victory on the bounce for the first time since August 2024.
Match preview
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DC United's poor start to the season took another turn for the worse last weekend when they suffered a 6-1 humbling at the hands of San Jose Earthquakes when the two sides met at PayPal Park.
Venezuela international Josef Martinez put on a show as he hit a hat-trick to take his league tally to four goals while Cristian Arango, Cristian Espinoza and Amahl Pellegrino added to the scoreline to cap off a stellar team display.
Having kicked off the season with one win and three draws from their four matches to start the 2025 MLS campaign, DC United have lost each of their subsequent three outings — their longest run of defeats since also losing three consecutive games in June 2024.
Troy Lesesne's men have picked up just six points from the first 21 available to sit 12th in the Eastern Conference standings, only above CF Montreal, Toronto and New England Revolution.
While DC United will be looking to stop the rot this weekend, they must fix up at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded 17 goals already, three more than the other 29 sides in the league.
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On the other hand, Cincinnati secured back-to-back wins for the first time this season as they held on to see off New England Revolution 1-0 when the two sides met last Sunday.
Following a goalless first half at the TQL Stadium, Brazilian forward Sergio Santos grabbed the headlines for the home side as he struck in the 65th minute to condemn the Revs to their fourth defeat in five games.
Before that, Cincinnati snapped their run of three consecutive defeats across all competitions on March 30, when they edged out Nashville 2-1 at Geodis Park thanks to goals from Evander and Kevin Denkey.
Pat Noonan's men have picked up four wins and one draw from their seven games so far to collect 13 points and sit fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, level on points with Charlotte and Philadelphia Union, and two points off first-placed Columbus Crew.
Next up for Cincinnati is the challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 10 of their last 13 encounters, picking up five wins and five draws since February 2019.
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Team News
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DC United head into the weekend without the services of American midfielder Jackson Hopkins, who has been sidelined since August 2024 through a severe ankle injury.
Fellow countryman Conner Antley continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury last May and the 29-year-old defender is also out of Sunday's clash.
Cincinnati will have to cope without several players down the spine of the team as Miles Robinson (leg), Obinna Nwobodo (hamstring) and Alec Kann (hip) are currently recuperating from injuries.
Teenage Hadebe has missed each of the last three games since sustaining a hamstring problem against Charlotte on March 16 and the 29-year-old defender is also out of contention for the visitors.
Evander, who has four goals and one assist to his name this season, was a notable absentee against New England Revolution last time out through a knee problem and the Brazilian forward is a major doubt for the trip to Audi Field.
DC United possible starting lineup:
Kim; Dodson, Rowles, Bartlett, Schnegg; Kijima, Peltola; Badji, Pirani, Peglow; Benteke
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Flores, Hagglund, Engel, Yedlin; Bucha, Anunga, Smith, Orellano; Baird, Denkey
We say: DC United 1-2 FC Cincinnati
Still reeling from their humiliating defeat against San Jose, DC United will head into the weekend looking to restore some pride and snap their losing streak. While breaching opposition defences has not been an issue for the Black-and-Red, they have struggled to impose themselves at the back and we fancy Cincinnati to come away with the desired result this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
