Two clubs that entered 2026 with genuine playoff ambitions meet at Audi Field on September 9, and neither can afford to leave empty-handed. DC United sit 12th in the Eastern Conference on 25 points, Columbus Crew are 13th on 23, and the ninth and final playoff berth is three points above them both. With the top of the East pulling away, this is the kind of fixture where the loser’s postseason chances start to look very thin.
What’s at stake
The Eastern Conference sends nine teams to the MLS Cup Playoffs, and right now neither DC United nor Columbus Crew are in that group. Philadelphia Union occupy ninth place with 27 points from 23 games. DC United are two points back having played one fewer match, which keeps them technically alive, but Columbus are four points adrift from ninth with the same number of games played as the Union. Nashville SC lead the East on 53 points, a number that puts the title race in a different zip code from where these two clubs currently are.
A DC United win would lift them to 28 points, pulling them level with Orlando City SC in eighth and within one point of the playoff line. For Columbus, a win is arguably more urgent: it would bring them to 26 points and back into a realistic conversation about the postseason. A defeat for the Crew, on the other hand, would leave interim head coach Laurent Courtois with very little margin for error across the final stretch of the regular season.
How they got here
DC United have not won in five league matches, going D-L-L-D-D since mid-August. Two of those losses were damaging ones: a 3-1 defeat away at Charlotte and a 3-0 home loss to New England Revolution. Their last competitive action before this fixture was a postponed trip to FC Cincinnati, which did nothing to build rhythm or confidence. René Weiler’s side have drawn too many matches this season, recording 10 draws in 22 games, and that habit of dropping points against teams they should be beating is exactly why they find themselves outside the playoff picture.
Columbus Crew come in with a form line that reads W-L-L-L-L across all competitions. The one bright spot was a 3-0 home win over Colorado Rapids on September 5, but before that they lost to New England Revolution, Club America in the Leagues Cup, Nashville SC away, and CF Montreal at home. That run of four straight defeats in all competitions before the Colorado result is the backdrop to Courtois’s interim spell, and it explains why the Crew are 13th despite having six wins on the season.
Key battle to watch
Columbus carry a goal threat up front, with Josef Martinez among the attacking options available to Courtois, but their defensive record tells the real story: 39 goals conceded in 23 matches is the joint-worst picture for any team still mathematically in the playoff race in the East. DC United are not much better at 36 against, and with Weiler’s side having scored only 28 goals all season, this match is likely to be decided by which defense can hold shape for 90 minutes rather than which attack can produce moments of quality. The midfield battle will dictate tempo, and DC’s Dozzell and the Crew’s Gazdag figure to be central to how either team controls possession and limits the other’s transition opportunities.
Key Stats
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Our Prediction
History favors Columbus heavily in this fixture, with six wins from the last ten meetings, but their current form outside of that Colorado result is shaky. DC United’s inability to win at home recently makes this a game that feels more likely to end level than to produce a decisive result. Columbus probably need to win more than DC do given the points gap, but Weiler’s side at Audi Field is not a free bet for anyone.
Columbus Crew
DC United
Josef Martinez