After taking four of a possible six points from a two-game swing through Portland and Los Angeles, United return to newly re-sodded RFK Stadium to host the San Jose Earthquakes in the Black-and-Red's first home MLS match since May 14.
D.C. United (4-4-4) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (4-4-4)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Team News and Tactics
D.C. United: The ongoing absence of Dejan Jakovic (hamstring) likely means that Perry Kitchen and Ethan White will form the center-back pairing once again, with Daniel Woolard and Chris Korb as the full-backs. Dax McCarty (groin) described himself as "good to go" during the week after missing both the Portland and Los Angeles matches, so he should be back in the center of midfield. Of course, I said that last week, but McCarty turned out to be a last-minute scratch for the Galaxy encounter. Charlie Davies should feature up top tonight, but it's unclear at this point whether he'll start or come off the bench, as he did Friday.
San Jose: The Earthquakes are missing leading scorer Chris Wondolowski (he's on Gold Cup duty with the U.S.), as well as striker Ryan Johnson (with the Jamaican national team). I'd expect Frank Yallop's first XI to be similar to the team that defeated Houston 2-0 last weekend, with Steven Lenhart leading the line alone in a 4-4-1-1 formation and Khari Stephenson playing in the hole behind him.
Key To The Game
Use the Wings: MLS All-Star Game nominees Chris Pontius and Andy Najar should, in all honesty, have a field day against San Jose's backs, a unit that includes former D.C. United player Bobby Convey (yes, Yallop has him playing left back now). Pontius and Najar shouldn't be troubled for pace, but the key, as always will be the quality of their deliveries into the box and whether Josh Wolff and/or Charlie Davies will be able to get on the end of them.