Friendly GameThread: Portsmouth FC At D.C. United

The 122-year old English Championship club Portsmouth visits RFK Stadium for an exhibition against D.C. United. Pompey has fallen on hard financial times recently, but the storied franchise is just two years removed from winning the FA Cup. Their quest to return to the Premier League in 2011 begins tonight.

Game time: 7:30 PM.

Television: None.

Projected Starting Lineup: We should expect to see those players who got a rest on Wednesday night to start tonight, and those that played 90 minutes on Wednesday night get a rest.

What's that mean in terms of actual players? It means that I think we will see Jaime Moreno, Clyde Simms, Andy Najar, and Julius James return to the starting lineup, while some other players who have been going nonstop lately (Santino Quaranta, Devon McTavish, Stephen King) may be given most of the night off.

The club has also indicated that Branko Boskovic will get plenty of time once again as he tries to work his way back into fitness. And tonight might also mark the return of Marc Burch, who is listed as questionable on the injury report.

United should surely be considered the favorite in this match. Portsmouth is only bringing 12 healty players to RFK, and the 100-plus degree heat will really drain those who are in pre-season form. Expect lots of substitutes for the home team as they wear down the English side.