Ben Olsen will be looking for a response from DC United against New England Revolution after calling his players "a bunch of frauds" in the midweek defeat to Nashville.
DC coach Olsen fumed as his side went down 1-0 to the expansion team after Russell Canouse's first-half red card.
The 43-year-old was scathing of an "unacceptable", "uninspiring" performance and wanted his senior stars to be more like 16-year-old half-time substitute Moses Nyeman.
United sit bottom of the East, but Olsen had been content with their displays prior to the Nashville trip and hopes for a return to normal on Sunday.
"It was a very disappointing night," he said. "The one good thing is we get to turn around against New England to try to fix this and get back to how we played the last month.
"Hopefully this is just a little blip. I hope it is."
They are likely to have it tough against the Revs, however, with Bruce Arena able to rest key men in the second half of a comfortable success against Montreal Impact.
Arena was wary of his the league's manic schedule heading into midweek.
"The goal going into the [Montreal] game was obviously to win the game to try to get [Lee Nguyen] off at a time where he could get a little bit of rest and hopefully have him ready for Sunday," he said. "That was the reason for changing Gustavo [Bou] and Teal [Bunbury] as well. They've logged a lot of minutes."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
DC United – Yordy Reyna
DC players had no place to hide amid Olsen's rant, but they have been dealing with a number of injuries. The arrival of Reyna from Vancouver Whitecaps therefore represents a boost. The midfielder scored 20 goals in 77 games north of the border and could debut against the Revs.
New England Revolution – Gustavo Bou
Bou ended a four-match goal drought against the Impact and his challenge now is to prove he can be a regular scorer in MLS. "If Gustavo gets chances, he'll finish," said Arena. "The goal will give him a little confidence."
KEY OPTA FACTS
- New England ended an eight-match winless run (0-7-1) at DC with a 2-1 victory in August, their first success there since 2013. The Revs are unbeaten in four straight against United (1-0-3), their longest run since going six in a row without losing (5-0-1) from 2009 to 2011.
- DC have won just two of their first 13 matches, including just one of their past 11 (1-5-5) dating back to the start of MLS is Back. They have had fewer than two victories at this stage of a season just once in club history, recording one win in 13 matches to start the 2013 season.
- New England have lost only three times all season, including just two of their past 12 (4-2-6) after starting the season with a defeat to Montreal. The Revs have had fewer than three losses in their first 13 games only once in the club's MLS history, losing once in 13 to begin the 2005 season.
- DC have an xG of just 11.8 this season, slightly ahead of FC Cincinnati's MLS-worst 11.7. Over their past five matches, United have recorded a total xG of 3.1, failing to reach an xG of 1.0 in four of those five matches.
- Bou scored his fourth goal of the season in New England's win over Montreal, doing so with his 48th shot, tied with Diego Rossi for the most attempts in MLS this year. Bou has been directly involved in 75 shots (48 shots, 27 chances created) this season, second only to Alejandro Pozuelo (82 - 36 shots, 46 chances created).
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