MLS

• United, FCD in desperate need of points

  
  

  Frisco, TX (Sports Network) - D.C. United and FC Dallas are two Major League Soccer teams in desperate need of points when they square off at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday afternoon.

  D.C.

  is on a four-game winless streak - including a 2-2 draw at home vs. the Hoops on Sept. 13 - and finds itself fifth in the Eastern Conference, just one point up on the Kansas City Wizards for the last spot in the 2008 MLS Cup playoffs.

  FC Dallas (7-9-9) is coming off a victory that snapped a five-game winless streak of its own, but is still fifth in the Western table, two points out of the third and final guaranteed playoff spot in the conference.

  United is coming off a 5-2 loss at Los Angeles on Sept. 20 in which Galaxy forward Landon Donovan scored a hat trick in its last league fixture and will be looking to bounce back on Sunday.

  "Guys like Landon, you can't afford to leave them unmarked," D.C. coach Tom Soehn said. "We turned it over and he got rewarded for putting himself in good spots. We found ourselves chasing the game." "They had a lot of life. Landon and Beckham obviously add so much to the team. They caught us in spots in counter attacks. And Landon did a good job of finding the holes and we didn't account for them.

  They did pretty well and they exposed some of our weaknesses." The Hoops (10-12-3) are coming off a completely different result, a dominating 4-1 win at Chicago that put them back in the playoff race in the West.

  "I thought we did a lot of things well and attacked their back four with speed, which is what we worked on this week so overall I am happy with our play," FCD coach Schellas Hyndman said. "That first goal was important to put the Fire on their heels and affect the goalkeeper's mentality, and for us it builds confidence." Dallas could get a boost if winger Victor Sikora who is listed as questionable with a knee injury, is able to return Sunday. D.C. will be without midfielders Ben Olsen, who is out for the year with an ankle aliment, and Marcelo Gallardo,who is still recovering from hernia surgery, but defensive midfielder Joe Vide and forward Jaime Moreno are both probable.

  09/27 19:20:38 ET