There are defining moments in the history of any football club, and for DC United, tonight will signal one of the biggest for them as they prepare to go head to head with Vancouver Whitecaps – but that isn’t the story here. The story is that Wayne Rooney will likely be making his debut for the Washington-based club, and in addition to that, they’ll be playing their very first game at the new Audi Field Stadium which has been specifically designed for football or ‘soccer’ based purposes, which isn’t always the case in the MLS.

Rooney completed his long-awaited switch from Everton to America a few weeks back, and in that time, many fans have been eagerly awaiting his first game in the league in order to see how he’d fare. It’s going to be a baptism of fire in many ways with their legions of fans expecting big things from the Liverpudlian, and the same goes for the thousands that will likely be staying up to see how he does from the United Kingdom.

This likely won’t be an easy game for them to manoeuvre, though, with logic suggesting that they should probably struggle against Vancouver. The Canadians have picked up 26 points from 19 games so far this season and find themselves in the playoff positions in the Western Conference, whereas DC have only managed 11 points in 14 games – leaving them bottom of the Eastern Conference.

However, the Whitecaps are slowly having to steady the ship with their narrow 3-2 win against Chicago last time out serving as a ‘sigh of relief’ following 1-0 and 4-0 losses against Colorado and Philadelphia respectively. DC, on the other hand, have scored eight goals in the time it’s taken Vancouver to score just three – despite the fact they’ve only picked up one point in that time. They’ll be looking to drag the Whitecaps into a brawl, and judging on recent evidence, it seems like they’ll succeed.

DC United vs Vancouver Betting Tip

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is going to be a slugfest, as is usually the case in Major League Soccer. Rooney will likely be afforded a great deal of respect on the ball by most of the Whitecaps opposition in the early stages of the game, but it’ll be interesting to see whether or not that carries on past the first 45 minutes. The atmosphere in the stadium combined with the uncertainty surrounding the Vancouver defence should open this game up nicely for a DC victory, as the home side haven’t exactly had any problems sticking the ball in the back of the net as of late.

Just look at the figures: despite the fact that Vancouver have a better record over their last six games, they’ve scored the same amount of goals in that time as DC United – and that was without Rooney. There’s always the possibility of him struggling to get a foothold in the game, but this is like a cup final to them and we don’t think they’re going to pass up this opportunity to make a big statement to the rest of the MLS.

Receive exclusive betting tips and offers directly to your inbox. Receive exclusive betting tips and offers. SIGN UP