The league’s best defense meets its most prolific attack on Saturday when D.C. United host Los Angeles Football Club in a nationally televised game on FOX. There’s no lack of star power in this one as current top scorer Carlos Vela leads the best of the West against Wayne Rooney’s men in the nation’s capital. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi Field.

The Black-and-Red are off to their best start in 13 years and sit atop the Eastern Conference with 10 points from four matches, Meanwhile, head coach Bob Bradley has LAFC firing on all cylinders with 15 goals scored and 13 points captured through five played, but finding the back of the net likely won’t come as easy against a side who have conceded a solitary goal to date. The teams have only met once since the visitors joined the league, a 1-1 draw in Los Angeles last May in which Darren Mattocks canceled out Diego Rossi’s first half goal with just six minutes left in regulation.

LAFC are fresh off a 5-0 demolition of the San Jose Earthquakes, matching D.C. United’s five-goal tally against Real Salt Lake two weeks prior. Both teams boast top class stadiums with hostile environments on a weekly basis. D.C. attacker Paul Arriola would love nothing more than for a raucous crowd at Audi Field to play a big role in bringing home a result against the league leaders.

“As tough as it was for us to go there and scramble a point away last year, that’s our goal for them this year,” Arriola said ahead of the blockbuster matchup. “Come and really get a taste of what we’re like at home and the atmosphere to show that they’re not the only team in the league [with] a great atmosphere.”

Take a look at any offensive statistic and LAFC likely leads it. D.C. tactician Ben Olsen is impressed by what he’s seen and will be hoping for a spirited display from his back line and midfield destroyers Russell Canouse and Junior Moreno.

“They are in very good form. They’re well coached, they have an MVP-caliber player [in Vela]. They pose a bunch of different threats, and defensively they’ve been sound as well.”

D.C. United will likely field the same lineup that has featured in every game this season, with the exception of Joseph Mora who is sidelined for a month after suffering a broken jaw and concussion against Orlando. Veteran Chris McCann will presumably slot in to provide cover until Mora returns and will have his work cut out for him on Saturday.

LAFC’s forays forward tend to favor McCann’s side of the field (37%) through Vela and Lee Nguyen just behind in midfield, and they’ve utilized the right side of the field to an even larger degree (40%) in their two matches on the road.

Part of the Mexican international’s supply could be missing, however, as LAFC will have to deal with the absence of Nguyen due to a calf issue. Designated Player Andre Horta has appeared just once in 2019 and will miss this game as he continues to recover from quad strain.

Here are our expected lineups for the heavyweight clash.

LAFC (4-3-3): Tyler Miller; Jordan Harvey, Eddie Segura, Walker Zimmerman, Steven Beitashour; Eduard Atuesta, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Latif Blessing; Diego Rossi, Adama Diomande, Carlos Vela.

D.C. United (4-2-3-1): Bill Hamid, Chris McCann, Steven Birnbaum, Frederic Brillant, Leonardo Jara, Junior Moreno, Russell Canouse, Lucas Rodríguez, Luciano Acosta, Paul Arriola, Wayne Rooney