Soccer

DC United vs. NYCFC 2017 live stream: Start time, TV channel, and how to watch MLS online

DC United are hoping to cut New York City’s momentum off.

Apr 8, 2017, 3:59 PM UTC

Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

New York City FC are threatening to head into a top-shelf run of form in Major League Soccer, with three big results in their last three matches pushing them to third place in the Eastern Conference. As they head to Washington, D.C. to face DC United, though, they have to be mindful, because a big loss could cut that momentum short — and DC United have plenty of reason to want to cut their momentum off while they can.

NYCFC’s first win of the season came over DC United almost a month ago, a 4-0 thrashing in New York that still has United fans stinging to think of. United are coming off their first win of the season, though, a crucial and hard-fought victory over the Philadelphia Union that finally seemed to show a team with some confidence and drive.

If they can harness that feeling and use it to their advantage, DC United can easily put in a much, much better performance than they did the last time these two teams faced off — and that would be a very bad thing for NYCFC, who could really use another emphatic win to get their momentum rolling. We’ve seen over the past couple of years that they’re a very momentum-driven team, and if that ball starts rolling in the wrong direction, it could be a little while before they start looking like the team they can be again.

DC United will be without forward Patrick Mullins and midfielder Rob Vincent, a painful but not insurmountable issue to deal with. New York City FC also won’t be feeling too much injury pain — Jonathan Lewis is out with a hip injury, but Mikey Lopez might be available again as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury.