Reigning Champs on Rise
After a very rocky start, New York City is finally meeting expectations. The reigning MLS champions haven’t lost in their last five games — six if we include the match for the Round of 32 of the U.S. Open Cup. In other words, the Citizens are on fire.
On the other hand, DC United hasn’t won in its last four games in all competitions. The team from the capital can’t afford to lose another one. Otherwise, the Black and Reds could fall to last place in the Eastern Conference.
As expected, the visitors dominate the soccer lines thanks to a +125 price.
Let’s check the latest news, stats, injury reports, and USA MLS odds for DC United vs New York City FC. We’ve plenty of soccer predictions for you to consider.
DC United Decimated
Last Saturday, DC United showed signs of improvement. The Black and Reds overcame a two-goal deficit against Inter Miami to win a point in a 2-2 draw. Taxiarchis Fountas and Ola Kamara scored for DC United.
The problem is that Chris Durkin got a red card in stoppage time, so he won’t be available to face New York City FC. The Black and Reds will also be without Andy Najar, Chris Odoi-Atsem, Moses Nyeman and Adrien Perez.
Prior to that game, DC United lost 3-0 to the New York Red Bulls in the Round of 32 of the U.S. Open Cup. I think that’s good news for Chad Ashton’s team. Now, the Black and Reds will be able to fully focus on turning things around in the MLS.
Three of DC United’s four victories were at Audi Field. In other words, the Black and Reds are considerably better when playing at home. That makes them a tempting online gambling underdog, especially at +190.
Fountas and Kamara are the other two reasons to consider DC United . Each has scored five goals. Only CF Cincinnati has a more productive duo in Brandon Vazquez and Luciano Acosta, who combine for 11 goals.
New York City FC: Scoring Machine
New York City FC lost for the last time, in any competition, on April 6. Since then, the Citizens own a 5-1-0 record. They scored in all but one game and finished with a clean sheet three times, outscoring their opponents 20-6. Overall, only Montreal CF has scored more goals than NYCFC with 22.
Most recently, they defeated Columbus Crew 2-0 with goals from Talles Magno and Valentin Castellanos. The team’s top scorer with six goals, Castellanos is on fire after scoring in three of their last four games.
Curiously enough, the Citizens come in as the betting online favorites at +125 despite not having won on the road. They own a 0-1-2 record, but they put up a good fight in every game. They limited the Los Angeles Galaxy to one goal and lost to Toronto FC due to an own goal.
“I feel there’s a lot of development in this team. We are starting to see relationships within this group get better. We have talked about putting together a streak with good results and making it so our lowest level is so high that we get something from every game and I think we do that now,” head coach Ronny Delia said after their last game.
Heber Araujo is questionable due to injury, while Anton Tinnerholm is out.
DC United vs New York City FC Head-to-Head
- Previous Matches: 17
- DC United Victories: 5 (19 goals)
- New York City FC Victories: 9 (34 goals)
- Draws: 3
Last season, these two collided three times. First, DC United won 2-1 at Audi Field. Later, New York City FC took revenge with two straight victories at home. The first meeting ended up 2-1 while the second was 6-0. No, that’s not a typo.
The Citizens own a 4-3-3 record in their last 10 encounters with the Black and Reds. During that span, they failed to score twice and finished with a clean sheet four times.
DC United vs New York City FC Game Information
- Date: Wednesday, May 18th
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
- DC United vs New York City FC Streaming: fubo.tv
DC United vs New York City FC Betting Lines
DC United vs New York City FC Prediction
Yes, DC United showed some improvement, but New York City FC is the better team. Offensively, besides Castellanos, Thiago Andrade is also having a good season with four goals. Defensively, Maxime Chanot is highly motivated after signing a three-year contract extension. This is the perfect opportunity for the Citizens to get their first road victory, so go ahead and include them in your soccer picks.
Score Prediction: New York City FC 2, DC United 1
