Montreal Impact vs DC United: Scouting Report

Since we last met the Montreal Impact, D.C. United have finally thrown two monkeys off of their backs: they finally beat the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City, and have moved into second place in the Eastern Conference. Should they manage a win against L'Impact, they would move into first just in time for the World Cup "break."

Their strengths right now are their midfield, especially in the center. Davy Arnaud and Perry Kitchen have formed a great partnership and have been able to harry opposing midfields. Chris Rolfe has also looked good since coming over in a trade from the Chicago Fire. However, the fourth midfielder, Nick DeLeon, has looked poor throughout this season, having no one really on the bench to push him. Early in the season we thought that he might be on the road to turning it around, but he has fallen back into a slump.

The weaknesses of the team are still in the attack. Fabian Espindola, as great as he has been, cannot carry the attack by himself. He also missed a panenka penalty kick this past weekend. I mentioned Nick DeLeon above, and of course we are still waiting for Eddie Johnson to have a breakout game. Signs of life from either of them in this game would make me happy.

Injuries: Chris Pontius and Michael Seaton are both out, and Chris Korb and Nana Attakora were both out last week and so are unlikely to play. Jeff Parke got hurt right before kickoff on Saturday, and is doubtful for tonight's game.

With that said, a likely lineup is Bill Hamid; Sean Franklin, Bobby Boswell, Steve Birnbaum, Cristian Fernandez; Nick DeLeon, Davy Arnaud, Perry Kitchen, Chris Rolfe; Fabian Espindola, Eddie Johnson.