Chicago Fire vs. D.C. United TV/streaming, lineups, prediction and GameThread

The Black-and-Red take to the road this weekend, leaving RFK to the U.S. Men's National Team and the USSF Centennial celebration. Rather than celebrating, though, D.C. United are simply trying to stop the freefall today against the Chicago Fire. Or, should I say, the newly reinforced Chicago Fire, who have added center back Bakary Soumare and dangerman Mike Magee in recent days. It can't ever just be easy for us, can it?

Time: 5 pm EDT

Venue: Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Ill.

TV/Streaming: Comcast SportsNet in the D.C. region, MLS Live elsewhere and UniMas nationwide (following the USA-Germany match as the back-end of the double-header).

Projected D.C. Lineup: With Bill Hamid spending the weekend back in D.C. with the USMNT, Joe Willis will get the start in goal. The back line is full of question marks, but I think we'll see a foursome of (R to L) James Riley, Ethan White, Dejan Jakovic and Chris Korb. Look for Perry Kitchen and Raphael Augusto to hold down the center of the park, with Kyle Porter and Nick DeLeon on the wings. Look for Chris Pontius and Carlos Ruiz to partner up top, with Dwayne De Rosario (who played 120 minutes in Richmond on Tuesday) coming in off the bench.

Prediction: I think United finally scores some goals, but I'm not at all confident in our ability to keep Chicago off the scoreboard. I'll call a 2-2 draw.

What Are You Drinking?: After tailgating for USA-Germany and spending hours and hours out in the sun today, there's really only one thing I'm going to want when I get home to watch this one. Water. (Did I mention my air conditioning is out until the repair people can come by tomorrow? Copious amounts of water.)

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