Nashville SC’s stellar play at home, combined with a history of success against D.C. United, seemingly puts them in good position to halt a mini-rough stretch.
Looking to avoid dropping three straight MLS matches for the first time ever, Nashville eyes an eighth consecutive home victory over all competitions Saturday night versus D.C. United.
Nashville (10-5-5, 35 points) saw its 7-0-3 league run end with a 1-0 loss at CF Montreal on June 21. It then fell 2-0 at Columbus three days later.
It’s the second time this season that Nashville has dropped consecutive MLS matches, but has yet to lose three straight during the franchise’s four-year history.
“You can’t get too caught up in having back-to-back losses,” star defender Walker Zimmerman told The Tennessean. “We’re looking to break that losing streak. But, (it’s) not something that we’re going to panic about.”
Though Nashville offensive stalwarts Fafa Picault and Jacob Shaffelburg will be out on international duty, and perhaps veteran Teal Bunbury (hamstring), it’s outscored opponents 17-4 during a seven-match home winning streak that includes two U.S. Open Cup triumphs. Meanwhile, reigning MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar has recorded eight of his 13 league goals and six assists in 10 home contests.
Mukhtar posted three goals with an assist in four games against D.C. United (7-8-5, 26 points), which has been outscored 10-4 while 0-3-2 versus Nashville. D.C. earned one of those draws on May 13, via Theodore Ku-Dipietro’s 83rd-minute equalizer for a 1-1 home finish.
Coach Wayne Rooney’s group has recorded just one victory and four points on its last five MLS road matches (1-3-1). However, D.C. should have momentum from last weekend’s 3-0 home triumph over MLS-leading FC Cincinnati.
Pedro Santos, Derrick Williams and Cristian Dajome scored within the first 43 minutes. Yet, Rooney felt his side got complacent in the second half, and was fortunate to prevail.
“I really believe if we have that focus (for entire games), we can beat any team in the league,” Rooney said.
D.C.’s Christian Benteke has not scored any of his team-leading eight goals in the last three games but posted an assist versus FCC.
–Field Level Media