Two teams at opposite ends of the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference will meet on Saturday as Columbus Crew aim to win their first match of the season against fourth-placed DC United.
Having only played one match in the division so far, each team is still finding their feet for the new campaign.
Match preview
The opening day of the season was something that everyone associated with Columbus Crew will be hoping to quickly forget as they suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat against Philadelphia Union.
While they did take the lead in the first half, even that was via an own goal, with the second 45 minutes seeing things fall apart as their opponents scored all of their goals.
A lack of discipline proved to be an issue in that period as Columbus Crew gave away two penalties which opened the game up for Philadelphia Union.
However, this weekend will be the first opportunity for Wilfried Nancy's men to perform at home, providing a great chance to quickly put that fixture behind them.
After an eighth-placed finish last season the team will be hoping to go one step further this time around to secure a playoff position, adding further pressure to this fixture.
However, when it comes to the previous campaign that is something that DC United will want to improve upon even more considering they finished bottom of the Eastern Conference.
It was a difficult season for the team which saw them finish with a -35 goal difference, highlighting just how tough the team had it.
That is something that Wayne Rooney's men have already been looking to put right after kick-starting this season with three points, providing themselves with the perfect platform to launch into this campaign with.
The Black-and-Red left things extremely late in securing that win though as it took a 98th-minute goal from Theodore Ku-DiPietro to defeat Toronto 3-2.
That was not the only late goal of the game though as DC United came back from 2-1 down in the final 10 minutes as Christian Benteke initially scored an equaliser in the 90th minute, showcasing the fighting spirit the team has this season.
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Team News
Patrick Schulte could be set to feature in goal once more for Columbus Crew due to the fact there are issues surrounding Eloy Room and his green card, but he will be hoping for a stronger performance than his debut where he let four goals in if that is the case.
Josh Williams could be brought in to make his first start for the club in an attempt to strengthen the defensive side of the hosts after struggling in their first match.
The visitors will be without the services of Martin Rodriguez for the bulk of this season after he tore his ACL in his right knee, providing them with an early blow.
Another name that is not going to be available for DC United is Ravel Morrison as Rooney decided to axe his former teammate from the roster.
However, the experience of former Crystal Palace and Liverpool striker Benteke will prove vital for the team, just as it did last weekend when he got off the mark.
Ku-Dipietro will also be hoping he did enough in his cameo role on the opening day of the season to start this time around after he scored the late winner.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Moreira, Degenek, Williams, Medranda; Morris, Nagbe, Espinoza, Zelarayan, Molino; Ramirez
DC United possible starting lineup:
Miller; Ruan, Birnbaum, Williams, Jeahze; Palsson; Canouse, Klich; Fountas, Rodriguez, Benteke
We say: Columbus Crew 1-1 DC United
Columbus Crew will fancy their chances of bouncing back from last weekend's defeat and securing their first victory of the season in front of their own fans on Saturday. However, we believe DC United will follow up their opening-day win by earning a hard-fought point in Ohio.
How to watch
You can watch Columbus Crew vs. DC United 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.
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