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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!