Injuries continue to dominate the talk of D.C. United's lineup, with Fabian Espindola and Bill Hamid coming back to full fitness just as Chris Rolfe is out for an indefinite amount of time with a concussion. Ben Olsen has to continue to juggle his lineup to find a group that will work with the injuries and poor performances that have come so far.
With Fabian Espindola back at 100%, I expect Ben Olsen to try and find a way to get him and Luciano Acosta on the field at the same time and working together well. If it can work, it gets United's two most creative attackers on the field and could provide a wealth of danger for a team that is sorely lacking in that department. However, Espindola will need to work together with Acosta to make this work, and realize that he doesn't have to shoulder the entire burden alone.
The midfield should be unchanged from the start of the last game, with Patrick Nyarko, Nick DeLeon, Marcelo Sarvas, and Lamar Neagle. However, should Nyarko not be able to go this time, or should he need to come out at any point in this game, Olsen cannot move Nick DeLeon to the wing. Miguel Aguilar and Rob Vincent are more than capable options, and disrupting the central midfield mid-game is never a great idea if it can be avoided.
The back line will also remain the same, but Bobby Boswell can't keep having these up and down performances. He is the captain and he is probably still the second-best center back on the team, but if his performances hew more closely to Sunday than not Olsen will have to make some sort of change.
I don't think that Bill Hamid starts this one, despite practicing at full speed all week. I think Olsen will give Travis Worra one more game, give Bill one more week of practice, and then have him suit up next week.
With this lineup, the substitutes would be Tally Hally, Kofi Opare, Luke Mishu, Alvaro Saborio, Miguel Aguilar, Jared Jeffrey, and Rob Vincent. What do you want to see Ben Olsen do on Friday?