DC United vs Montreal Prediciton: First win under Rooney is yet to be achieved

DC United have yet to pick up its first win under Wayne Rooney, and in the match against Montreal, the capital club will try to break the winless streak. Will they succeed?

DC United: roster needs strengthening

Last season, DC United had no shot at making any play in the MLS, but that's about as true now as it was then. They are nine points behind the playoffs, but they do have two games left. The team's new head coach, Wayne Rooney, is trying to get players in. Jesse Lingard has yet to arrive, but Jamaican midfielder Ravel Morrison, who previously played for Derby County, recently joined the club. Morrison has also played in the English Premier League and by the standards of the MLS his transfer is a definite reinforcement.

However, it would be nice to strengthen the defense now, as in the last four games, DC United conceded a total of 17 goals. In the game with Minnesota, it could have come down to a blowout, but there was no big difference: the 2-0 defeat only strengthened Washington's position at the bottom of the table. The day before, Wayne Rooney's charges had a sparring with Bayern Munich and lost 2-6. It was only in the second half when the scoreline became obscene that DC United managed to make a difference, with the half-standard squad playing at the time. Perhaps the coach needs to pay attention to those who often start games on the bench.

Montreal: clear playoff contender

The Impact have won 3 of their last 5 regular season games and are currently 4th in the Eastern Conference. They are not without local failures, but overall the team is fairly stable. Montreal is creating scoring chances, but sometimes they fail to do so. For example, Wilfried Nancy's team scored the decisive goal only in the 2nd half in the last regular season game against Toronto, 1-0. Until halftime the team was actively moving forward, with Matko Miljevic being particularly evident. Montreal had 19 shots on goal and almost no fouls on defense. In the end, goalie James Pantemis had to work hard: in the 90th minute he deflected a dangerous Toronto shot.

Head-to-head encounters

In their last 5 regular-season head-to-head encounters, the teams have each had 2 wins. In the last meeting, DC United defeated Montreal 2-1. Impact on the game looked just as good and did not use a few goal chances, but the Washington club deservedly scored two goals.

Key stats

• In 10 home games, DC United had 2 wins;
• Montreal won 4 of the last 10 road games, suffering 2 losses;
• In their last 12 games, DC United never had a clean sheet.

Expert Betting Tips

The last matches Montreal took part in were quite spectacular: the team is good in the attack, but there are plenty of mistakes on defense. United's offense doesn't look strong, but they need to improve at home. Two goals against Bayern are encouraging and the gradual strengthening of the squad should improve the game of Washington. I suggest betting on the following outcomes:

• BTTS+TO (2.5) for 1.95;
• H2 (0) for 1.95;
• TO (3.5) for 2.90.

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