Needing one point to secure post-season football, DC United play host to Charlotte FC at Audi Field in the final game of the 2024 MLS regular season on Saturday.
While the visitors have already booked their spot in the playoffs, a run of two wins in their last two outings has put the Black-and-Red in pole position to qualify for the two-legged play-in clash in the East.
Match preview
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DC United picked up three huge points in their quest for a playoff spot as they held on to see out a 2-1 victory over New England Revolution at the Gillette Stadium a fortnight ago.
After Pedro Santos and in-form striker Cristian Benteke found the back of the net inside the opening 10 minutes to put the visitors in a comfortable lead, they had to see off a late comeback scare when Matti Peltola netted a 74th-minute own goal to halve the deficit.
Prior to that, DC United snapped their three-game winless run on October 3, when they fought back from two goals down to secure a thrilling 4-3 victory over Nashville courtesy of a close-range finish from Benteke and a brace from Gabriel Pirani inside the final 15 minutes.
Troy Lesesne's side head into Saturday's season finale unbeaten in all but one of their most recent seven games, picking up four wins and two draws, having failed to win 12 of the 14 MLS games preceding this run.
This late-season turnaround has put DC United on course to finish in one of the two play-in qualifying places as they sit eighth in the Eastern Conference table, level on 40 points with ninth-placed CF Montreal.
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Charlotte, on the other hand, continued their strong end to the regular season campaign as they picked up a 2-0 victory over Montreal when the two teams squared off at the Bank of America Stadium on October 6.
Poland international Karol Swiderski maintained his red-hot form in front of goal as he opened the scoring in the 34th minute to put the hosts in the lead before Patrick Agyemang made sure of the result with a 94th-minute strike.
Charlotte have now gone four straight matches without defeat, picking up three wins and one draw while scoring 11 goals and keeping two clean sheets since suffering three consecutive defeats against Atalanta United, Montreal and Orlando City.
Dean Smith's men have picked up 13 wins from their 33 MLS matches heading into the final game of the season while losing 11 and claiming nine draws to collect 48 points and sit sixth in the East, eight points above DC United outside the guaranteed playoff places.
While Charlotte will look to close out the regular season on a positive note, they will need to show their mettle at Audi Field as they have failed to win their last six away matches across all competitions, losing three and claiming three draws since a 3-1 defeat against Cincinnati on July 13.
Team News
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Having served a one-game suspension imposed on him by the MLS FA for violent conduct, Swedish defender Christopher McVey is cleared to return to action this weekend.
On the injury front, DC United remain without the services of American defender Matai Akinmboni and fellow countryman Jackson Hopkins, who have been sidelined through ankle injuries.
Conner Antley has been out of action since coming off with a knee injury in May's game against Atlanta United and the 29-year-old defender is also out of contention for this weekend's hosts.
Benteke has enjoyed a remarkable campaign, netting 23 goals to sit four goals clear in the Golden Boot race, and the Belgian striker will be looking to add to his tally this weekend.
Charlotte will take to the pitch without the services of 23-year-old forward Iuri Tavares, who is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Montreal last time out.
On the injury front, the Crown will have to cope without the duo of Jahlane Forbes and Serbian midfielder Nikola Petkovic, who are currently recuperating from hip and knee injuries respectively.
With his opener against Montreal last time out, Swiderski now has four goals and one assist in the Crown's last three games and the 27-year-old striker will be one to keep an eye on.
DC United possible starting lineup:
Bono; Stroud, Herrera, Bartlett, Peltola, Santos; Klich, Rodriguez, Pirani, Ku-DiPietro; Benteke
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahlina; Byrne, Malanda, Privett, Ream; Bronico, Westwood, Urso; Biel, Swiderski, Abada
We say: DC United 2-1 Charlotte FC
With their playoff dreams hinging on this weekend's result, we expect DC United to go all out as they need at least a point to secure post-season football. Charlotte have put together a fine run result of late, but given their recent struggles on the road, we are backing the Black-and-Red to come away with a narrow victory in front of their home supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
