Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 151/100

Bookmaker: ZetBet

Following a slow start of the campaign, Montreal welcomes DC United searching for the first win since mid-April. The game will be played at the Saputo Stadium where over 23,000 fans will push the local side towards the 4th win of the season.

Montreal

After an incredible start that saw Montreal undefeated in the opening three rounds, the hosts strangely slowed down in the following games. After their victory over Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, the Canadian team seemed like a serious contender for the Eastern Conference title.

Nevertheless, the first indication of the host’s defensive issues came with the strange downturn that followed as Montreal lost each of their next three games. Even though they led against Chicago Fire at halftime, Montreal’s second-half collapse caused them to lose 4–3, recording the first loss of the season. The visits to DC United and Seattle were even more disastrous for Laurent Courtois’s team, losing both games without scoring (1-0 against DC United and 5-0 against Seattle).

The hosts of this match thus dropped to 13th place following poor performances, seven points outside the play-offs. With four losses in the previous five games, Montreal’s below-expected results persisted, making it difficult for the team to compete at a high level owing to unresolved defensive concerns. Nevertheless, after the humiliating 5-1 loss at Toronto, Courtois made some tactical adjustments that paid off in the most recent goalless draw at home versus Nashville.

After a dismal start to the season and a difficult schedule ahead, Montreal has to defeat DC United to avoid elimination from the play-offs early on. Furthermore, Montreal, who failed to win any of their last four games against the Capital team, have always found the visitors a formidable foe.

Team News

The strikers for Montreal were out for weeks owing to injury, which contributed to the lack of goals scored in the recent games. Both Matias Coccaro and Joseph Martinez will be out for an extended length of time due to knee injuries. In addition, Lassi Lapallainen entered the recovery room through groin issues.

DC United

An excellent start with a single defeat in the first seven rounds had the hosts dreaming of the quarter-finals of the play-offs. However, the inability to close games which led to many points dropped sent DC United to 9th place, four points behind their target. Still, with 18 points from 15 games (W4D6L5), the away side is positioned in the last spot that leads to the round of 16.

Starting May undefeated with a spectacular home stalemate against Philadelphia (2-2) followed by a statement win at Atlanta United (3-2),  the run was ended by New York Red Bulls who punished the hosts with a comprehensive 4-1 win. Following the heavy blow suffered in that match, DC United travelled to Miami to face Messi & Co. with few expectations considering the current leader’s impressive form.

Despite dominating the game from start to finish, Inter Miami narrowly edged DC United with a late goal scored in the 90th minute by Leonardo Campagna, inflicting Troy Lesesne’s team with the 5th defeat in the league. With an upcoming difficult schedule and Orlando City looking to explore any slip, DC United must repeat the latest two displays at Montreal when they left the pitch with all three points.

Team News

Central midfielder Rusell Canouse has been out with illness since the end of March and will not play against Montreal. Lesesne is expected to dispatch Ibrahim Sunusi upfront with the young Nigerian striker scoring against Toronto.

Key factors to consider

• Montreal disappointed their fans this season after registering a single home win (2-1 against Cincinnati)
• The hosts are in free fall suffering four defeats in the last five rounds
• Laurent Courtouis’s team conceded 15 goals in the last five games
• DC United are well positioned in a play-off spot with 18 points after playing 15 rounds
• Despite struggling on the road, the visitors proved to be difficult to defeat away from home (W1D4L2)
• Troy Lesesne’s team has an excellent recent away record against Montreal (W2)

Conclusion

Montreal have all the attributes required to get back on track with a win against DC United. Although the visitors are slightly better positioned in the standings, their recent results display a fall that Montreal should be capable of exploiting.

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 151/100

Bookmaker: ZetBet

At least three men were killed in separate homicides in the District over the holiday weekend, one on each of the three days, according to the D.C. police.

The apparently unrelated killings occurred in Southeast on Saturday, in Northwest on Sunday and in Northeast on Monday. One victim was less than 20 years old; another was in his late 50s.

A beloved gay bar in Washington, D.C., known for its eclectic atmosphere and celebrity sightings, is expanding to Philadelphia. The owners of the Little Gay Pub, which has quickly become a hotspot for locals and tourists, are bringing their unique hospitality brand to the City of Brotherly Love.

The new location will be at the corner of 13th and Drury Lane, near the historic McGillin’s Olde Ale House.

LGP founders Dito Sevilla, Dusty Martinez, and Benjamin Gander, longtime D.C. bartenders, aim to open the Philadelphia branch as soon as late December, but no later than next spring, in time for Pride Month, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The trio’s mission is to create a pub where the LGBTQ+ community “is celebrated, more than just served.” Sevilla told the Inquirer that LGP’s decor and service “harken back to an older age in the community, when the bars were nicer, a little bit more leathery and darker, and the fixtures were better.” Both the D.C. and Philly locations are designed to capitalize on natural light, fostering a welcoming daytime drinking environment in addition to the late-night scene.

One of LGP’s standout features is its ornate restrooms with perfect lighting, which have become a social media sensation. The Instagram account Royal_Fiush_LGP is dedicated to capturing selfies taken in the pub’s bathrooms. Sevilla humorously explained, “We wanted to have over-the-top bathrooms, and there was really no specific reason…we made them crazy and kitschy— and so clean and nice.”

Sevilla told The Advocate that the team is excited about the expansion. “We love Philly! We are so excited to have the opportunity to bring our unique brand of not-so-Little Gay Pub, offering a quirky, campy, glamorously gay hospitality experience to an incredibly historic and LGBTQ-friendly city like Philadelphia.”

Sevilla emphasized the team’s dedication to detail, sharing that they always want to create a space full of personality and charm. “When we built the place, we had hoped it was going to be a gathering space for everybody, but people really have come to appreciate all the love we put into it,” he previously told The Advocate. “We wanted to put details and little hidden Easter eggs all across the bar because we all had our distinct personalities, and we wanted to have a place where we all felt represented.”

The Philly location will include a mural of the late city planner Ed Bacon, overseen by a rooftop deck, highlighting the local flavor and history. According to the Inquirer, the pub’s founders are committed to becoming part of the community, sharing an apartment to ensure that at least one of them is always in town.

The paper reports that the three plan to keep their doors open to engage with the neighborhood during construction.

“We plan to keep our doors open so the neighborhood can stop by, pop in, and ask us questions,” Martinez said. “We’re just a very friendly bunch of people that have brought greatness to D.C., and we hope to do so in Philadelphia.”

The original LGP has hosted numerous celebrities, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat, who visited last fall and took selfies in one of the pub’s famed restrooms. Other notable guests have included actors Billy Eichner and Alan Cumming. Recently, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the season 9 cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Starsdropped by the pub.

Additionally, LGP has formed a notable partnership with the British Embassy, culminating in the creation of the “GREAT Love is for Everyone” mural by artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer.

Sevilla shared that the partners have long enjoyed Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ spots and are eager to join and expand the community’s offerings. “For years, we have each enjoyed many of the LGBT spots Philly has had to offer—some of them for decades—and can’t wait to join them in expanding the offerings for our people and their allies to enjoy.”

Benjamin Gander echoed this enthusiasm: “We’re beyond excited to get up there.”

Philadelphia’s LGP aims to continue this legacy of community engagement, inclusivity, and celebration. Sevilla emphasized the pub’s ethos: “The Little Gay Pub is a small space with a big heart and an old soul. We can’t wait to share it with the City of Brotherly Love, Freedom, and the cradle of Liberty.”