Of the eight teams left in the MLS Cup playoffs, most would recognize that D.C. United is the least likely of the bunch to catch fire and go on to win it all. That said, the Black & Reds could change the narrative in a hurry if they can find a way to pick off the team which many feel will go on to win the whole enchilada, the New York Red Bulls. The first leg of this home-and-home series will take place on Sunday at RFK Stadium.
ODDS ANALYSIS
All of the home teams are going to be favorites on Sunday, and for good reason. No one had a winning record on the road in the MLS this year, including the almighty Red Bulls. That said, New York will be the closest team to the favorite in the opening game of the second round of the playoffs, and D.C. United won't be anywhere near an odds-on favorite.
KEY INJURIES
Both of these teams are in pretty good shape on the injury front. D.C. United remains without Davy Arnaud and Jared Jeffrey, but it has acclimated itself well without those men for the last several weeks. The Red Bulls are without both Roy Miller and Anatole Abang.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Any time you have a loss like we did, everybody has to evaluate themselves, and I think more times than not, you get a response from that. And it's usually positive. A loss like that, it hurts you, and you want to prove that's not who you are. I'm proud of the guys, once again, for dealing with some of that adversity." – D.C. United Ben Olsen on how his team bounced back from a bad "Decision Day" loss to Columbus to get past New England in the knockout round of the playoffs
RECENT FORM
The Red Bulls are going to be awfully tough to top here in the postseason. They won the Supporters' Shield for a reason. RBNY won its last two matches of the regular season is style against Chicago and Philadelphia, but there's a tad bit of a concern knowing that the schedule hasn't been tough at all in recent weeks.
D.C. United beat New England 2-1 in the opening round of the playoffs to reach this point, but we're not convinced its form is all that strong. The team beat up on Chicago in the penultimate game of the season and took out NYCFC prior to that, but the history against playoff teams just isn't good and cannot be ignored.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
United has gotten some great games of late out of Bill Hamid in the pipes, but we're not so sure that he can do this on his own.
The Red Bulls have a much deeper squad with much more playoff experience and success than what United brings to the table, and that's going to show.
Yes, home teams have dominated here in the postseason, something which isn't all that surprising, but this is where it all comes to a horrible end for the Black & Reds. D.C. United isn't strong enough at the back to try to deal with Bradley Wright-Phillips and all of his mates up front, and we suspect this two-legged tie is, for all intents and purposes, going to be long over before it ever gets back to the Big Apple.
New York 3, D.C. United 1
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