Game Day Hub: NYCFC play DC United at Audi Field

Today is Matchday 11: New York City FC are in our nation’s capital to play DC United at Audi Field at 7:30 pm ET.

NYCFC are riding a five-game unbeaten streak in which they scored 16 goals and earned 13 out of a possible 15 points. DC United are 2-1-2 in their last five games, and most recently drew Inter Miami 2-2 while down one player.

NYCFC have a needs-improving away record in 2022: They have yet to win on the road this year. For their part, DC only have three wins and three losses at home.

NYCFC and DC United have faced each other 17 times, and New York City have dominated: Nine wins, three draws, five losses. NYCFC have scored 32 goals to DC’s 18.

Match: NYCFC play DC United

Date and Time: Saturday, May 13, 7:30 pm ET

Venue: Audi Field in Washington, DC

Forecast: Cloudy, chance of showers, 70˚F/21˚C

Watch: ESPN+

Stream: YES App

Listen: The game will be broadcast in both English and Spanish on NYCFC Radio

• Injury Report: Defender Anton Tinnerholm is out with the Achilles injury he suffered last October. Forward Kevin O’Toole is our with a head injury.

• This is NYCFC’s first away game since April 6, when the Pigeons traveled to the Pacific Northwest to play Seattle Sounders.

• Will manager Ronny Delia play Nicolas Acevedo as right-back again? The midfielder was drafted into the defense in last Saturday's win against Columbus Crew, and his technical skills helped settle a backline that has been jumpy this year.

• Bigger question: Will Maxi Moralez play the No 6 again? He was effective as a low-lying playmaker, and Santiago Rodríguez is growing into the No 10 spot.

• DC United have had an unsettled year. The club fired former head coach Hernan Losada just five games into the season — the team had gone 1-0-4 in that stretch, but more importantly, the players were unhappy with Losada’s obsessive insistence on weigh-ins and using conditioning as punishment. Unhappy times. former assistant Chad Ashton is now in charge, and the team have enjoyed a new coach bounce caretaker hop: The team are 2-1-2, and playing pretty good football.

• United’s Taxiarchis Fountas and Ola Kamara are legit scoring threats, with five goals each this season, and they form the most potent attack NYCFC have faced since Toronto FC. But the rest of the team doesn't pose much of a threat: Only two other United players have scored this year. (By comparison, nine NYCFC players have found the back of the net.) NYCFC will need to neutralize Fountas and Kamara to get a result.

• DC will be without defender Chris Odoi-Atsem, midfielder Andy Najar, midfielder Moses Nyeman, and forward Adrien Perez. Chris Durkin is suspended after earning a red card against Inter Miami over the weekend.

Answer: FC Cincinnati, 22 goals for and 5 goals against in six games played for a goal differential of +17.

• The oddsmakers give NYCFC a slight edge over DC. As of the publication of this article, Taty Castellanos is tapped as the most likely to score, followed by Héber, United’s Michael Estrada, United’s Taxiarchis Fountas, Thiago, and United’s Ola Kamara.

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Update: The starting lineup was released at 6:48 pm ET