• Matchday 13: DC United vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Wednesday, May 14, 7:30 pm ET
• Venue: Audi Field, Washington, DC
• Forecast: Decent chance of rain, possibly a thunderstorm 70F/21C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Josh Eastern and Jamie Watson (English), Erasmo Provenza and Natalia Astrain (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Armando Villarreal (referee), Corey Parker and Ben Pilgrim (assistant referees), Guido Gonzales Jr (fourth official), Timothy Ford (VAR), Craig Lowry (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will be in their sky-blue Excelsior Kit; DC will wear their black Icon Kit
Matchday 13 sees New York City FC visit the nation's capital to take on DC United in a midweek clash held days before the hotly anticipated Hudson River Derby.
But tonight's game could be the Luis Barraza Derby: The goalkeeper emerged as DC's starter in recent weeks, and the former NYCFC shot-stopper could face his old team tonight.
New York City can't overlook DC, especially since Pascal Jansen's squad enters this match reeling from back-to-back 1-0 losses to, respectively, a USL Championship team and the lowest-scoring squad in MLS: The bad taste of the Pittsburgh and Montréal losses will linger until NYCFC produces a palate-cleansing performance. Fans will hope that happens tonight at Audi Field against a DC team that enters below New York City in the table, sitting in 12th Place in the Eastern Conference with 12 points (3W-3D-6L) through 12 matches.
DC is fresh off a 2-0 road loss to Toronto FC on Matchday 12, but they've alternated wins and losses across their last five MLS matches played, beating Colorado Rapids 2-1 at home on Matchday 11.
NYCFC has only recorded one away win in seven attempts in all competitions (1W-2D-4L, -4 goal differential) so far this season, but that win came in their last MLS road trip on that very windy afternoon in Toronto.
New York City vs DC H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 43 | 26 | 17 |
This fixture historically leans heavily in New York City's favor. The +17 all-time goal differential advantage enjoyed by New York City is the second-highest number they hold against any head-to-head opponent, trailing only the +19 goal differential edge NYCFC holds over CF Montréal.
DC and New York City played to a 1-1 draw in the most recent meeting between these teams on September 14, 2024, at Audi Field, with a penalty kick in each half: Santi Rodríguez for NYCFC at 32', Christian Benteke for DC at 67'. New York City took all three points when they won 2-0 at Citi Field on April 20, 2024, with Santi Rodríguez again scoring, along with Julián Fernández, and with NYCFC's defense holding Benteke firmly in check.
NYCFC did most of its historic damage against DC during their home games. We can't forget the dramatic late goals scored at home to beat DC by the likes of Frank Lampard and Thiago Andrade, can we?
The matchups held near the Anacostia River haven't been as friendly to New York City, as six of DC's seven all-time wins against NYCFC came at either RFK Stadium or Audi Field. Although New York City has found success on the road, with four away wins over DCU from their 12 previous trips south down I-95.
New York City Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Malachi Jones (leg) is still recovering from his long-term leg injury. In addition, Keaton Parks (foot) and Kevin O'Toole (leg) remain out with their injuries, though defender Birk Risa is no longer listed as unavailable and could return to action in DC.
• Can anybody in blue score a goal for New York City? The team was held scoreless in three of the last five matches, scoring just two goals in that run of games.
• Right now, that inability to score includes Alonso Martínez. The Costa Rican forward had back-to-back tough games against Cincinnati and Montréal, attempting 13 shots and putting four on target in those games combined without finding the back of the net.
• Matt Freese is getting back to the elite level of shot-stopping ability he showed through the 2024 season and heads to DC following one of his best performances of the season vs Montréal. Freese ranks second among MLS keepers with 44 saves, his 75% save percentage is 10th best, and Freese's goals prevented number (PSxG-GA) of 6.1 ranks third.
• Who starts at right-back? Mitja Ilenič returned to fitness after a brief spell out injured and came on at halftime to replace Tayvon Gray during the loss to Montréal. The position has long been shared between Ilenič and Gray, so might we see one start in DC, and another start this weekend against the Red Bulls?
• New midfield signing Aiden O'Neill was limited to 60 minutes of action in his debut vs Montréal after only training twice with his new New York City teammates. Interesting to see if the Aussie is right back in there in DC, or if the team continues to manage his minutes given his last game with Standard de Liège before the transfer was on April 6.
