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DC United vs Toronto FC Predictions and Best Odds for Feb. 25

Toronto FC Midfielders, Kosi Thompson and Michael Bradley, Celebrates Jonathan Osorio’s Goal in the D.C. United vs. Toronto FC Game

PREVIEW – Toronto FC will play in Audi Field to start their MLS season campaign on Saturday night against D.C. United. The two worst teams in 2022 will look to turn things around in 2023 and try to make the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be available for free on Apple TV and will also be televised nationally on TSN.

Toronto FC Plays Its Season Opener in America’s Capital:  DC United vs Toronto FC

D.C. United

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2022 MLS Season: Needs for Improvement This Year

The team that won the dubious Wooden Spoon last year will look to turn things around this year. They only had 27 points last year. Because of this, there was a change in coaches, which happened in the middle of the year of this team as they fired Hernan Losada and hired former D.C. United and English player, Wayne Rooney.

Rooney also made this clear this year as he said this in Jonathan Sigal’s MLS Soccer:

“There’s no chance I’m finishing bottom of that league again, there’s no chance,” Rooney said in a behind-the-scenes video that D.C. shared on their official channels. “I’ve been in the game a long time and it hurts. When you look at that league table and you’re at the bottom, it hurts.”

Players to Watch

D.C. United was able to earn the rights to Polish midfielder, Mateusz Klich, from the English Premier League. Rooney was also impressed with the midfielder as he said in Signal’s article for MLS Soccer:

“And Mateusz, we spoke to many people about him who know him, who know how he’s worked at Leeds and his character. And that’s the one thing that shone through from everyone I spoke to and obviously speaking to the player himself, I could see that. He’s a confident lad.”

Another player to watch for as a TFC fan is Taxiarchis Fountas. He led the team in goals last year with 12. Ola Kamara, the Norweigan forward, had nine goals last year. Also, most notably, Alex Bono is now a goalkeeper with D.C. United, so there is a small chance TFC will play against Alex Bono on Saturday.

Their preseason has not been that impressive, finishing with one win and two losses this year as they get ready for the MLS season opener. However, they did get a shocking win over defending MLS Cup Champions, Los Angeles FC, so they will be a team to watch for.

Toronto FC

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Toronto FC’s Lack of Preseason Success

TFC had a pretty mediocre preseason in the Coachella Invitational Tournament. They played four games and only earned one point. That was via a draw with the Portland Timbers. Bob Bradley said this about the team in pre-season and what they lack currently from Steve Buffery’s Toronto Sun article:

“I would still say left-back, right-back, a little bit at midfield. And then depending upon how some other things go, I can still even include what goes on up front. Finding the right group of guys, getting enough guys … we’ve made some progress but I think the challenge is still there for certain guys to show more, to show that they’re going to be more consistent this year than they were last year and that they can be counted on in better ways so that’s what we’re still looking at.”

However, one of the recent acquisitions, Matt Hedges, defender of TFC, sees the progress that has been made with the team as he said this in Buffery’s Toronto Sun’s article:

“I think we can be a fantastic team,” said Hedges, who joined TFC after 11 seasons with FC Dallas, where he was named MLS Defender of the Year in 2016 and was named to the MLS Best XI twice (2015, 2016). “We’ve seen glimpses of it in (exhibition games) when we play how we want to play. I don’t think there’s anybody who can stop us to be honest.”

What Players to Look Out For

READ MORE: 2023 Toronto FC Season: Cautious Optimism

TFC has not made the MLS Cup Playoffs the last two years and they look to change that for this year. Sean Johnson, their new goalkeeper, will definitely be a player to watch for this season foe the DC United vs Toronto FC game.

Other players to look out for are Canadians like Johnathan Osorio, Federico Bernardeschi, and Lorenzo Insigne. All three players scored a lot of goals for TFC last year and this will hopefully be the first full season for Italians, Bernardeschi, and Insigne. Both players joined in the latter stages of the 2022 MLS season and now have time to make their mark in 2023.

Head-to-Head

The team faced each other twice last year. TFC won the season series as they won at home 2-1 and drew 2-2 in D.C. Jonathan Osorio was a notable player in that season series, scoring the game-winning goal in the win and the game-tying goal on the road. The teams only met each other once in the MLS Cup Playoffs, where Toronto FC knocked out D.C. United in the first round in extra time in 2019.

Both teams have a lot they need to prove this year as they head into the 2023 MLS Season. It will be interesting to see if either of these teams will be able to make a big jump and possibly make the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Best Odds for the DC United vs. Toronto FC Game

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Predictions: D.C. United 1 Toronto FC 1

D.C. United is considered the slight favourite at home with +125 odds while Toronto FC is at +206 odds. It makes sense as United had a better preseason than the Reds and is also playing at home.

However, TFC has made improvements on their backline and goalkeeping positions, which should put them in a better position as they can grab one point against the team from America’s capital on Saturday night.

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