D.C. United v New York City FC: Jansen hoping to solve attacking issues

New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen is hoping his players can rediscover their cutting edge in attack when they travel to Audi Field to face D.C. United this week.

Jansen watched on as his players were beaten by lowly CF Montreal last time out, ending their four-game run across all competitions without conceding a goal.

It also saw their opponents pick up their first win of the season, with Jansen believing the result was decided by his team's inefficiency in the forward areas.

NYCFC ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 0.88 from their 10 shots, though only two of those were on target.

"On paper, Montreal comes in with three points - struggling to get those points," Jansen began.

"If you look at our MLS games in the last few weeks, we did okay. The attacking threat has been an issue throughout all the games.

"It's a tough one, because you get one moment in the second half where [Montreal] escapes, and they get a good shot on target and a good goal.

"But for us, to get ourselves in a comfortable position during these games, we should do more with the ball to [shift momentum] in our direction."

D.C. United find themselves in a similar position to their opponents coming into their clash having fallen to a 2-0 defeat to struggling Toronto FC in their last MLS match. 

Indeed, it was the third time the club have failed to score in their last five regular-season matches.

They have, however, only been shutout in consecutive matches only once since the start of last season, failing to score against Charlotte FC and Atlanta United in June 2024.

Head coach Troy Lesesne shifted the blame for the loss on to himself, while also highlighting his side's inability to get talisman Christian Benteke involved in the contest.

"I start first with myself in our match plan," Lesesne said. "I don't think we were aggressive enough.

"And the identity you've seen for us at our best is an aggressive team, and we were really passive.

"We just weren't organised. We had the numbers there, but I don't think we had the behaviour because they obviously got the better of us.

"We really left him on an island," Lesesne said of Benteke. "That goes back to how the match plan was set up, and I take full responsibility for that."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

D.C. United – Christian Benteke

Though not on target for his team last time out, Benteke impressed against Toronto, recording team-high totals for shots (five), duels won (eight) and aerial duels won (seven).

The Belgian also has two goals in four appearances against NYCFC and will be looking to add to that total at Audi Field in midweek.

NYCFC – Alonso Martinez

Martinez attempted seven shots for the second straight league match in NYCFC's defeat on Saturday.

He is the fourth NYCFC player to take seven or more shots in consecutive league matches and the first since Valentin Castellanos in July 2022 (three straight games).

MATCH PREDICTION: NYCFC WIN

The last eight meetings between D.C. United and NYCFC at Audi Field have been split, with each side winning three times (two draws). Both teams have scored nine goals over the eight games.

D.C. United's last regular-season match at home was a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids. The team has not won consecutive home regular-season games since a two-game streak between April and May 2022.

NYCFC, meanwhile, won their last regular-season away match, 1-0, at Toronto. They have recorded consecutive road wins in league play only once since the start of the 2023 season, which was a three-match run in May 2024.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

D.C. United – 33.7%

Draw – 25.7%

NYCFC – 40.6%