New England Revolution v D.C. United: Weiler calls for ´culture change´ as visitors look to bounce b

D.C. United head coach Rene Weiler has called for a culture change at the franchise ahead of their crucial MLS clash with the New England Revolution on Saturday.

Weiler’s side were comprehensively defeated 4-0 at home by FC Dallas in their last outing, leaving them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

That result marked their third loss of the season and their sixth defeat by four or more goals since the start of the 2024 season, which is more than any other MLS team in that timeframe.

And Weiler believes a shift in the franchise’s culture – especially in terms of “not quitting” and effort – is necessary for their fortunes to change.

“It’s a little bit in the culture. We have to change the culture, and it’s not so easy to change the culture of a club,” Weiler said, reflecting on the loss to Dallas.

“It has been really good this season for the first five games, but we had some really bad moments, which means we didn’t change the culture yet to how we want to change it.

“It takes a little bit more time, but at the end of the day, it’s the players; they have to perform in the best possible way. They have to fight until the end.

“It doesn’t matter what the result is. In this club, you just can’t give up.”

“This is the biggest turning point we have to make right now” -Lucas Bartlett pic.twitter.com/UqWhpoBoJL

— D.C. United (@dcunited) April 9, 2026

New England, meanwhile, are looking to keep their upturn in form going, as they bounced back from a frustrating loss to St. Louis City with a confident 3-0 victory over CF Montreal last time out.

Luca Langoni, Mamadou Fofana, and Peyton Miller all found the net to pick up the Revolution’s second win of the season and move them up to ninth place in the East, a point behind D.C.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New England Revolution – Luca Langoni

Langoni has five assists in his last three games, recording at least one in each of those three matches.

He is the fourth player in New England’s history – after Joe-Max Moore, Lee Nguyen and Carles Gil – to post five or more assists in a span of three regular-season appearances.

D.C. United – Tai Baribo

Baribo has scored four goals in four career regular-season matches against New England, all with the Philadelphia Union, only netting more against FC Cincinnati (five) in his MLS career.

He scored in his last visit to Gillette Stadium, finding the net in a 2-0 win for the Union in March 2025.

MATCH PREDICTION – NEW ENGLAND WIN

Saturday’s meeting will be the 101st in all competitions between New England and D.C. United, with the Revolution winning 10 of the last 14 (D1 L3).

Prior to this run, which began in August 2020, New England had five wins in their previous 23 against D.C. in all competitions (D7 L11).

The Revolution have won consecutive home matches for the first time since between March and April last season, picking up victories over FC Cincinnati and CF Montreal.

New England had managed a total of just two wins in 14 home matches in all competitions (D4 L8) between the two winning streaks.

Meanwhile, D.C. are in dire need of a win to get their campaign back on track, having recently suffered their sixth defeat by four or more goals since the start of the 2024 season in a 4-0 loss to FC Dallas.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New England Revolution – 53.0%

Draw – 24.1%

D.C. United – 23.0%