Preview: DC United vs. New England Revolution - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors currently sit second in the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference having only lost a single match this season.

Match preview

DC United kickstarted the new campaign with a 3-2 victory, but since that point, they have failed to pick up three points which has led to them slipping down to 11th in the Eastern Conference.

Wayne Rooney's men have suffered two defeats and a draw in the following three games, and while they have managed to showcase good attacking qualities the same cannot be said for their defensive performances.

DC United have the worst defensive record in the division at this stage in the season which is something that they will need to address sooner than later to aid their season.

That was clear in their previous match when Christian Benteke and Steve Birnbaum both got themselves on the scoresheet only for the Black-and-Red to be defeated 3-2.

Despite that, DC United's sole victory this season did take place at home, and that it something that should provide some confidence to the team.

That will no doubt be boosted for the hosts by the fact that New England Revolution were defeated in their previous away match in a 4-0 loss against Los Angeles FC.

However, they immediately put that loss behind them last weekend when defeating Nashville SC by a goal to nil, with Gustavo Bou's goal proving to be the difference maker.

That victory helped to keep the Revs in a strong position at the top end of the table as they sit second place heading into this weekend, just a single point behind the league leaders.

Considering the fact that a victory could take New England Revolution to the top spot by the end of this game week there is plenty to play for in this one.

However, after scoring only five goals throughout the campaign so far there will be some pressure on the attacking players in the team to start providing more goals.

DC United Major League Soccer form:

New England Revolution Major League Soccer form:

Team News

DC United could offer a debut to Nottingham Forrest midfielder Lewis O'Brien this weekend after he joined the club in midweek on loan with an option to buy.

His signing could have been perfectly timed considering Rooney will be without two midfielders due to international duty as Victor Palsson and Mateusz Klich will both be unavailable.

However, the experience of Benteke is something that DC United can continue to rely on, especially since the former Crystal Palace forward got on the scoresheet last weekend.

Dylan Borrero and Christian Makoun will be missing for the visitors this weekend as they are away on international duty at the moment.

The Revs also have a lengthy injury list at the moment as Andrew Farrell, Nacho Gil, Ryan Spaulding and Tommy McNamara are dealing with leg issues while Maciel has an Achilles injury and Jacob Jackson is out with an ACL problem.

DC United possible starting lineup:

Miller; Teixeira, Birnbaum, Williams, Jeahze; Canouse, Asad; Durkin, Santos, Ku-DiPietro; Benteke

New England Revolution possible starting lineup:

Petrovic; Bye, Kessler, Romney, Jones; Polster; Blessing, Buck; Bou; Wood, Vrioni

We say: DC United 0-2 New England Revolution

DC United are unlikely to change their recent poor run of form as New England Revolution should have enough quality to pick up three points this weekend.

How to watch

You can watch DC United vs. New England Revolution and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Previews by email