D.C. United vs. Olympique Marseille: Preview + TV/streaming info
United’s lesser-used players get a chance to show out tonight
D.C. United will meet French giants Olympique Marseille tonight in the Black-and-Red’s second friendly of 2019. United comes into the game off the back of a tiring Thursday-Sunday slate of road games, and will probably lean heavily on players who haven’t gotten much time this year (as well as some Loudoun United call-ups). Marseille, for their part, won the EA Ligue 1 Games mini-tournament held on the same days United was away playing in MLS, and may also field a rotated team to avoid overuse during their preseason
Key player: Griffin Yow
Summer friendlies are not popular among many diehards, but if they do have one undeniable positive, it’s a chance for youngsters to get a game and showcase their potential. Yow’s already done that this year, coming on against Real Betis and immediately scoring a goal. Not only that, but he spent the rest of that night being United’s most dangerous player, which is a pretty great sign of things to come.
Tonight, Yow seems like a probable starter, and it would be great to see him being his usual self. That means busy, fearless, opportunistic, and ready to break teams down on the dribble. If you want to have fun tonight, keep your eyes on the guy in the #22 shirt.
Location: Audi Field (Washington, DC)
Kickoff time: 8:00pm Eastern
Projected D.C. United starting 11: (4231) - Chris Seitz; Chris McCann, Donovan Pines, Jalen Robinson, Marquinhos Pedroso; Chris Durkin, Antonio Bustamante; Ulises Segura, Zoltan Stieber, Griffin Yow; Quincy Amarikwa
Bench: Earl Edwards Jr., maybe Chris Odoi-Atsem, and Loudoun call-ups we won’t know about until shortly before the game
You can almost make a lineup out of DCU’s reserves without playing anyone out of position and without making a starter from Sunday play again. Here, we have McCann out of position and Pines playing again. This is probably going to prove incorrect. For example, Akeem Ward (apparently waived by United today, though the team has yet to make an announcement) could still stay in the organization and play. New signing Gordon Wild is a forward by trade, but Atlanta was grooming him as a wingback at the USL level, so maybe he starts there? Or on the wing, with Segura moving back?
It’s all guesswork with friendlies like this one.
Available TV: None.
Available streaming: Also none! We were under the impression that this game was going to be shown on Flo Sports, but apparently that is not the case.
The game will not be broadcast due to MLS restrictions.
— D.C. United (@dcunited) July 24, 2019
What are you drinking?: You know the drill: sponsor-provided bottled water.
This is the place for all your pre-game, in-game, and post-game discussion. Vamos winning a game barely anyone will see!