Reds look to snap five-game skid in steamy D.C.

TORONTO FC

The start of Toronto FC’s visit to D.C. United on Saturday has been pushed back 2 hours due to expected high temperatures and humidity. But both teams have already been feeling the heat.

Toronto (3-7-2) has lost five straight matches and D.C. (4-6-1) is looking to find its feet after firing coach Hernan Losada six games into the season.

The forecast for Saturday at Audi Field calls for 36 C (feeling like 38 C) at 4 p.m., the original kickoff time, dropping slightly to 35 C for the 6:30 start.

A win could vault Toronto up the congested Eastern Conference standings. D.C. United goes into weekend play in eighth place in the East, five places and two points ahead of Toronto.

D.C. is coming off a 2-0 mid-week loss to NYCFC and is winless in three matches (0-2-1) in all competitions. It has lost six of its last nine (2-6-1), including a 2-1 defeat at BMO Field on March 19. D.C. is 2-2-1 in MLS play since Losada was fired, with former assistant Chad Ashton serving as interim head coach.

Toronto has not won on the road since July 24, 2021, when it beat Chicago 2-1 at Soldier Field. It has gone 0-10-4 since away from home.

Taxiarchis (Taxi) Fountas may test the Toronto defence. The Greek forward, who is tied for the club lead with Ola Kamara on five goals, has turned heads since arriving in March from Austria’s Rapid Vienna as a designated player.

“He’s quick, he finds good spots,” Toronto coach Bob Bradley said.

Toronto has gone 19 league games since it posted a shutout, with the last one coming Sept. 25 in a 0-0 draw at Colorado.

Goalkeeper Alex Bono, speaking after last week’s loss to Orlando, said the inability to keep a clean sheet was keeping him up at night.

“I live on shutouts, so the fact that we haven’t had one in a while is slowly killing me,” he said.

But Bradley says morale remains high, with players electing not to take an extra day off to clear their heads after the Orlando defeat but rather to return to training.

“The group’s been good,” he said. “I think everybody knows that, with the number of changes ... at the beginning the year, it was going to be hard work..

Toronto will be without the injured Kadin Chung, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Chris Mavinga and Noble Okello. Jonathan Osorio, Alejandro Pozuelo and Jacob Shaffelburg are listed as questionable.