Last time D.C. United and the Colorado Rapids squared off, a second half defensive collapse made the difference as United was trounced 4-1. D.C. United looked like a team that had some serious defensive questions and it seemed Colorado was rolling right to the top of the table.

Well, things sure have changed since then. Omar Cummings, Conor Casey, and Caleb Folan have gone down with injuries. The team has won just one of their last six matches and has scored just three goals over that period. However, for this week’s match, they will be getting Conor Casey and midfielder Sanna Nyassi back from injury. They also picked up a 2-1 win over Houston in a mid-week game last week. They are going to need all of their offensive firepower to get past an improved United defense.

D.C. United has bounced back after Houston and New York racked up four goals each on the team’s ailing defense. Since then the team has shifted Perry Kitchen out right from central defense and started Ethan White centrally. That paid huge dividends as they got a big 2-1 win against Seattle on Wednesday and shut out FC Dallas on Saturday. They have also gotten a big boost from teen sensation Andy Najar, who set up both goals against Seattle and was a clear offensive spark for the team against Dallas.

For Colorado, if Conor Casey returns against D.C. United he is going to have to start scoring. He racked up 13 goals last season, but has yet to score this season. With most of the Colorado attack still injured, they are going to need him to start scoring now. Against an improved D.C. United backline, that will certainly be a challenge. The defense will also have to figure out how to contain league leading goal scorer Charlie Davies who had a goal and an assist against Seattle.

Despite the fact Colorado will not have most of its attacking players, the defensive line for D.C. United has to continue to play disciplined. We’ve seen some improved play on the backline by Dejan Jakovic in recent weeks, and much of the pressure falls on him to organize the backline with rookies Perry Kitchen and Ethan White out there. Offensively the biggest factor will be Andy Najar. He has been the offensive spark in both of the previous two games and will need to continue if United want to be successful against Colorado.

With so many offensive names still missing for Colorado Rapids and the improved defensive efforts of D.C. United, it is going to be hard for Colorado to break them down. The real question may be can D.C. United get some consistent offense going. Despite coming close on several occasions against Dallas, the team failed to score. Ben Olsen praised the team last week for their commitment despite not scoring, but I don’t expect the same response if the team can’t do that this week against Colorado.

Prediction: 1-0 D.C. United