2019 DC United vs Montreal Impact

Rooney-Less D.C. United Face Piatti-Less Montreal Impact At Audi Field

Rooney-Less D.C. United Face Piatti-Less Montreal Impact At Audi Field

D.C. United gets a chance to immediately bounce back from Saturday's loss by hosting the Montreal Impact tonight at Audi Field.

Apr 9, 2019 by Steven Streff
Rooney-Less D.C. United Face Piatti-Less Montreal Impact At Audi Field

A rare Tuesday night MLS game pits two Eastern Conference teams against each other, without their star players. D.C. United host the Montreal Impact at Audi Field tonight, a game which will be streamed by FloFC, kicking off at 8 PM ET. United's Wayne Rooney is suspended for this game, while the Impact's Ignacio Piatti will miss the game due to a knee injury.

Both teams will be looking for a win after recent blowout losses. On Saturday, the Black-and-Red suffered their worst loss ever at Audi Field, a 4-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC. That ended a 15-game unbeaten streak, dating back to a loss to the Philadelphia Union last August. At the same time Saturday, the Impact got a 0-0 draw at Yankee Stadium against New York City FC. However, a week prior, the Canadian side got blasted 7-1 at Sporting Kansas City.

In addition to the absence of Piatti, Montreal will also have to do without the services of forward Maxi Urruti on Tuesday night. The Argentine was sent off on Saturday after a video review for a tackle on Maxime Chanot. That will leave Impact coach Remi Garde with some decisions to make at the striker position. Anthony Jackson-Hamel seems the most likely candidate to fill in for Urruti, but with a home tilt on Saturday against the Columbus Crew, Garde could opt to rotate his squad.

Meanwhile, while Garde searches for answers to fill the striker position because of suspension, Ben Olsen has the same quandary at his striker spot. Like Urruti, Rooney was given a red after a video review on Saturday. Quincy Amarikwa, who made his team debut against LAFC, seems like a good bet to start against one of his former clubs, but Olsen mentioned a couple of different options on Monday.

"Quincy would be one [option]," Olsen said. "Ulises [Segura] has gotten some reps there... I could play [Luciano Acosta] up there, as a false nine. A bunch of crazy options for me."

Segura is mainly a midfielder, capable of filling in different spots. But before Amarikwa joined the team in preseason, the Costa Rican filled in as the forward behind Rooney. Segura might get a chance at that spot on Tuesday, but that would likely be more in a reserve role, with Amarikwa getting the start.

United will then have to turn their attention to a weekend trip out west to face the Colorado Rapids. On another short turnaround, a mile above sea-level, United might have to rotate the squad to keep players fresh. On Tuesday night though, in a game against a conference foe at home, expect United to field as strong a lineup as possible.

And even though the visitors are missing two key players, Olsen is expecting much of the same game from Impact side, who has only ever won once in the regular season in Washington, D.C.

"With a short turnaround, with a player or two missing, I think they will be very organized," Olsen said on Monday. "I think they will be tough to break down, they will be sharp in the counter, they will be Montreal."

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