DC United will be kicking themselves as they fought back from a 2-0 deficit to lead 3-2 against Chicago Fire during the week, only to concede a very late goal in stoppage time to draw 3-3.
This point extends DC United’s winless run in the MLS to 4 matches although they’ve lost just 1 of their last 6 matches overall which was a 2-1 loss away at Houston Dynamo.
The hosts have drawn 3 of their last 4 matches overall with draws against Toronto, New England Revolution and Chicago Fire, so they’ll no doubt be keen to turn the screw here on Saturday night when they entertain San Jose Earthquakes.
Despite dropping 2 points in the week, DC United still sit top of the Eastern Conference and have a reasonable record at their Audi Field, having won 4 of their 6 matches on home turf to date with victories over Atlanta United, Real Salt Lake, Columbus Crew and Sporting Kansas.
It’s also encouraging for DC United that the likes of midfielders Acosta (4 goals) and Segura (3 goals) got on the scoresheet in the week, along with Rooney (8 goals) playing the role of provider.
San Jose Earthquakes sit outside the top seven in the Western Conference in 8th place and a point behind 7th placed Dallas as they make their way over to DC United to face the Eastern Conference table-toppers in what looks like a difficult assignment for the visitors.
Nevertheless, San Jose have won 3 of their last 4 matches overall with wins against Cincinnati, Chicago Fire and Toronto and have lost just 1 of their last 7 matches overall in the MLS, which will give them confidence of getting something out of DC United on Saturday night.
However, just 1 win out of their last 11 away matches suggests that this trip looks far from being an easy one for San Jose, having lost 8 of these 11 matches on the road. Indeed, the bigger picture shows us that San Jose have managed to register just 2 away wins out of their last 18 road trips, so they’ll have their work cut out here.
In addition, San Jose have conceded 2 goals or more in 13 of these last 18 away matches which doesn’t bode well for the visitors in this clash.