Columbus Crew vs. D.C. United live streaming, lineup, previews, prediction and gamethread

Well, it's not exactly the biggest revenge we've ever sought as D.C. United fans, but tonight's game against the Columbus Crew does potentially offer a measure of recompense for the season-opening debacle at RFK Stadium. It also represents a chance to see how far the Black-and-Red have come since that 3-0 dismantling. The Crew have gone on to build one of the stronger records in the league so far this young season, but other teams have shown that Federico Higuain & Co. can be contained. That's the task facing Ben Olsen's charges tonight as United look for their third win in a row.

Let's do this.

Time: 7:30pm EDT

Venue: Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

TV: None in the DMV, unless you have Direct Kick. (And if you're a Crew fan who found your way here, and you're in the C-bus environs, you'd better hope you have Time Warner Cable, or you're out of luck, too!)

Live Streaming: This will be on MLS Live, and there shouldn't be a DC-area blackout. If you aren't a subscriber, you can also catch the game on dcunited.com/live.

Projected DC XI: Look for an unchanged side from last weekend's Atlantic Cup win over the Metros. 442 - Andrew Dykstra; Sean Franklin, Bobby Boswell, Jeff Parke, Cristian Fernandez; Nick DeLeon, Davy Arnaud, Perry Kitchen, Chris Rolfe; Eddie Johnson, Fabian Espindola. For more discussion, check out our lineup projection from earlier in the week.

Previews: As always, check out our StoryStream for all our coverage of this week's game. Included: an episode of Filibuster (our podcast, don'cha know) dedicated to analyzing last week's win and previewing this week's match, our questions answered by a Crew blogger and, of course, the best scouting report on today's matchup you'll see anywhere. Plus more! Also as always, dcunited.com has a tactical preview and a video preview. They've also added a new video feature, called Unmarked, starring a mic'd up Ben Olsen. For the home side's perspective, check out our SB Nation colleagues over at Massive Report.

Prediction: 1-0 to United thanks to Eddie Johnson's first goal of the year. Less because United have shown that they ought to be able to keep a clean sheet against the Crew - because there's very little indication that should be the case - and more because I've predicted los Capitalinos to win the last two games 1-0 with an EJ goal, and they've won both of those without conceding. Why mess with a good thing on my end?

What Are You Drinking?: It's finally spring (again?) in the Nation's Capital, and I'm going to be mixing up the official native cocktail of the District of Columbia, the gin rickey.

You know the drill: this is your place for pre-game, in-game and post-game conversation and commentary. Vamos!