Match Preview - DC United
Game Info
Kickoff: 1:39pm CT
Watch: Apple TV
Location: Q2 Stadium - Austin, TX
All-Time H2H Record
Austin FC has a 3W-0D-0L record against DC United.
The most recent meeting between these two teams came in July of last season. It was a challenge for Austin FC to score all year, but their offense broke out for four goals in that one, with Myrto Uzuni, Owen Wolff, Robert Taylor and Osman Bukari getting on the scoresheet.
It was Austin FC’s high water mark offensively for the season and the first time the club had recorded four or more goals in a match since doing so at home against San Jose Earthquakes in April of 2024.
Big scoring outputs have been the norm for the Verde and Black when they see DC United on the schedule. The first time these two teams saw each other, ATX netted three road goals in the legendary “Pollo Libre” match in April 2022. DC came to Q2 Stadium in October of the next season as Austin FC’s playoff chances were on life support. The home team was able to extend their slim 2023 playoff chances by a week with a 3-0 victory that included goals from known beer-guy Will Bruin and the newly acquired Matt Hedges.
DC United Recent Form
After an absolutely dismal 2025 season that saw DC United finish on 26 points to “win” the Wooden Spoon, they were able to eke out a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia Union on the opening weekend of the 2026 campaign. A 59th minute red card took the Union down to just 10 men and they were unable to find the equalizer before the final whistle blew.
The lone goal for DC was scored by their new DP striker, Tai Baribo, who was acquired from Philly in the off season in a $4 million cashfer. A revenge game indeed!
It must be a nice feeling for DC fans to record a home victory after the challenging year a season prior. You thought 37 goals sucked for Austin in 2025? Feast your eyes on the 30 goals scored by DC last season, which amounted to a -36 goal differential, unsurprisingly the worst marks in MLS.
While the roster was upgraded with the aforementioned Baribo, this is still a club that most experts (can include ZG in that category now after outperforming the national pundits with his rankings last season), think will struggle this year. Take a look at where we have DC finishing in our 2026 MLS Predictions article.
DC isn’t just undergoing a makeover on the pitch, they’re also into a new era in the front office. Dr. Erkut Sogut was hired in September as the club’s new Managing Director of Soccer Operations. Dr. Sogut wasn’t satisfied with just one elite goal-scoring threat, so he went out and grabbed Romanian forward Louis Munteanu from CFR Cluj in the Romanian Superliga. With CFR Cluj, Munteanu racked up 28 goals in 63 appearances. Munteanu, who was acquired in early January for a $6 million transfer fee, appeared off the bench for just 20 minutes last weekend. It appears he’s either working his way into game shape or still getting acclimated to his new surroundings. I would anticipate that he’ll get more time this Sunday as the team’s most expensive offseason acquisition.
With Munteanu, Baribo and U22 initiative player Gabriel Pirani, new head coach Rene Weiler has three quality forwards to choose from up top. With the departure of Christian Benteke, I would expect a more balanced scoring output, though Baribo is the clear favorite to lead the team.
With the offense reinvigorated on paper, the team then turned their attention to the defensive side of the ball. Domestically, former USMNT and MLS Cup winning goalkeeper Sean Johnson came over from Toronto FC and centerback Sean Nealis arrived from New York Red Bulls. Then DC looked abroad and brought Japanese left back Keisuke Kurokawa in for a fee north of $1 million, along with Swiss left back Silvan Hefti for a minimal $150k fee. All four of those players saw time in the first game with Nealis coming off the bench in the 90th minutes to close things out.
We discussed the offensive failures of this club in 2025, but there’s not much to point to from last season if you’re looking for silver linings on the defensive side either. DC United allowed the second-most goals in MLS (66), and they had the third-fewest average possession, only above FC Dallas and Minnesota United. That’s a lot of time for a bad defense to have to keep opposing teams off the scoreboard in an average match. In fact, DC only recorded four clean sheets, tied for second worst in MLS above only Sporting KC.
While the game is not played on a spreadsheet, the numbers DC put up in their home opener just a few days ago may tell a better story than the three points they actually came away with. Compared to the rest of the league, DC had the worst completed pass percentage at 74.5%, did not have a single accurate long ball, completed zero key passes, and had just a single shot on target that of course resulted in a goal. In all of those metrics they were either worst in MLS or tied for worst on opening weekend. Keep in mind, this team was up a man for 31 minutes!
Obviously, this is the smallest sample size we can pull from, but for a team that needed big changes from last year, all of the questions we had coming into last week still remain.
I think the fans of this team that were starved of victories last season probably don’t care too much about how they earned the three points last Saturday. For now they can glance at the table and see themselves tied for first place. But as far as ugly wins go, that game falls squarely into that category for DC.
Austin FC Recent Form
Encouraged.
If you were to poll Austin FC fans who tuned into the season opener last Saturday I think that would be the prevailing sentiment. That’s certainly how I would vote. While I was feeling let down by the result given how close the team was to seeing out three points at home against Minnesota, upon further introspection, I’m about as far from discouraged as I could be.
It wasn’t just Austin putting up two goals on a Minnesota defense that was one of the best in the league last season. It was the manner in which the team was manipulating space, playing without the ball, and finding creative attacking angles. Everything looked a bit more “free” to me, particularly compared to how it did last season.
I don’t want to get out over my skis here, but Facundo Torres looked the part of a player who commanded a $14 million transfer fee from Brazilian powerhouse Palmeiras less than 18 months ago. His ability to move around the field and pull the strings offensively is giving me Sebastián Driussi vibes and is one of the handful of reasons I am high on the 2026 iteration of Austin FC. On top of that, for my money, Driussi didn’t have the same amount of talent surrounding him during his tenure in Austin that Torres does at present, and I believe that Facu will make the most of it. From his service on set pieces to his intricate ball handling skills, color me excited about seeing this dude in the Verde and Black for many years to come.
Joseph Rosales was a player that really caught my eye in the three preseason matches that we were able to watch in full. He continued to look impressive in his 90 minutes of work last Saturday in the season opener. Rosales seems very comfortable on the ball, has an excellent left foot, and is even more versatile than we initially thought when the club announced the trade right before Christmas. Lining up on the right wing from the final two preseason games through the opener raised some eyebrows around the fanbase, but Rosales did his job well against Minnesota from my point of view.
Another newcomer who looked threatening was Canadian winger Jayden Nelson who, as of Friday, is no longer occupying an international slot on the Austin FC roster. He may not have the same burst that Bukari had when he’s got the ball at his feet, but he does possess the same otherworldly speed in the open field that the Ghanaian DP brought to the pitch.
While Austin FC didn’t thoroughly dominate their matchup, the home side was the superior unit in my opinion, which I shared on Episode 285. With six shots on target, nine total shots from inside the penalty box and 1.71 xG (according to FotMob), Austin looked like a coherent MLS offense, which was a rarity in 2025.
Play the game you played last weekend against this DC United side and I would expect three points in a convincing fashion. I don’t anticipate much to change other than Guilherme Biro to return to his starting position while Žan Kolmanič heads to the bench. Maybe we see new acquisition Christian Ramirez available off the bench after he was officially claimed off of waivers on Friday since he’s in game shape after just being bought out by LA Galaxy, but that won’t effect the starting XI.
For a fanbase desperate for a more fun brand of soccer, Matchday One provided some promise for a team that is still riddled with injuries up front and did not have an inspiring preseason on the scoreboard. Here’s hoping that wasn’t a flash in the pan kind of performance and that Austin FC is able to secure their first victory of 2026 this weekend.
Injury Report
This is an estimate until the league releases official injury reports on Saturday afternoon.
ATX:
Christian Ramirez (Questionable - Conditioning)
Mikkel Desler (Doubtful - Groin)
Robert Taylor (Doubtful - Knee)
Owen Wolff (Out - Sports Hernia)
Brandon Vazquez (Out - Knee)
DC:
Aaron Herrera (Questionable - Leg)
Hakim Karamoko (Questionable - Illness)
Gabe Segal (Doubtful - Leg)
DC United Players to Watch
Tai Baribo - The former Philadelphia Union striker cost DC United $4 million in a cash-for-player deal this offseason. Baribo is a talented scoring threat with a knack for finding the ball in dangerous areas. Instead of relying on elite speed, Baribo shows fantastic timing on his runs to find scoring opportunities and has great movement in tight spaces inside the 18. He’s also more than capable of winning one-on-one duels with defenders in open space and possesses an above average shot with his right foot. With 35 goals to his name in just 67 appearances with the Union, Baribo is a proven scorer at the MLS level and is likely number one with a bullet on the lockerroom whiteboard for the Austin FC back line.
Austin FC Keys to the Game
Stick to the Script - For me, Austin played well enough to deserve three points in their matchup with Minnesota last Saturday. Unfortunately, a late blunder on the defensive side of the ball snatched a victory away from the Verde and Black faithful. Soccer is a cruel and fickle sport, but sticking to your principles helps to navigate those challenges throughout a long season. It’s clear that Austin has implemented a more creative approach to matriculating the ball down the field and placed an emphasis on finding running lanes to pull defenses out of their shape. The two goals were great, but the possession looked incredibly crisp compared to what we came to expect from this team in 2025. The runs were threatening and the team had an air of confidence about them that was refreshing to see in person. Play the way you played in Matchday One and you win this game on Sunday.
Predictions
ZG - 3-1 Austin FC
E - 3-0 Austin FC
