WASHINGTON – D.C. United’s busy stretch of games continues on Wednesday evening, as United will welcome the Chicago Fire to RFK Stadium (7 pm ET, MLS LIVE) looking to stretch their home unbeaten run to 20 games and extend their narrow lead atop the Eastern Conference.
United’s current spate of schedule congestion has produced a mixed bag of results. In just over two weeks, United earned a hard-fought victory over Orlando City, put in a subpar performance in a 1-0 loss at Philadelphia, drew a 9-man New England side 1-1, rested many of their regulars in a 1-0 loss to the Portland Timbers and avenged their previous loss against the Union with a late, game-winning goal on Saturday night.
Wednesday’s encounter against the Fire will be United’s sixth match in less than three weeks, and D.C. head coach Ben Olsen will likely continue to rotate his lineup, as he's done for other encounters in this stretch. Designated Player and 2014 club scoring leader Fabian Espindola remains sidelined with a knee injury, though on Tuesday Olsen left the window open as to whether or not Espindola would appear in Wednesday’s match.
"There’s definitely a chance you could see Fabi,” Olsen told reporters. “Whether he’s starting or coming off the bench, I have yet to decide."
Espindola isn’t the only player nursing a knock. Forward Luis Silva – who’s participated fully in training for the past couple of days – continues to recover from a hamstring strain, and defender Taylor Kemp remains out of action while recovering from a groin strain.
Then there’s Chris Rolfe, perhaps United’s most dangerous offensive weapon as of late. Rolfe will be forced to sit out Wednesday’s encounter with the Fire after receiving a one-game suspension for kicking out at Union midfielder Vincent Nogueira off the ball on Saturday. On Tuesday, Rolfe expressed regret at having to miss the match against his former club.
"I’m disappointed to not be able to play against Chicago this weekend,” Rolfe said. "I think it’s a time when the team needs all of us. It probably wasn’t the smartest decision by me … Plays like that just happen, [though.] It’s not like I thought about anything or what was going on. That stuff is just reactionary. It’s disappointing.”
Given Olsen’s tendency to rotate veteran players during busy stretches, Rolfe might not have even started the match against Chicago, something the coach alluded to on Tuesday. Given Chicago’s strong recent run of form, though – the Fire have looked solid over their current three-game unbeaten stretch – Olsen certainly may have considered using Rolfe off the bench.
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“They find ways to stay in games,” said Olsen of Chicago. "Mostly, they have a great ability to counter. They’ve got good team speed. [Harry] Shipp continues to be a real player in this league and they’re getting the most out of Polster, the youngster in the middle.
"They’re good, they’re certainly getting better and they’re in good form right now. We’re going to have to play better than we did against Philly to get a result against them. That part I know.”
United’s work doesn’t end on Wednesday, however. Just three days later, D.C. will welcome Toronto FC – albeit a Reds side lacking Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley – to RFK, getting their first look at Sebastian Giovinco & Co. before finally getting a full week to catch their collective breath.
