D.C. United's midfield duo expected back for clash with New York City FC

Buried within this Washington Times feature on the breakthrough of D.C. United midfielder Jared Jeffrey is what should be a very encouraging note for fans of the Black and Red.

Their starting midfield pairing of Marcelo Sarvas and Nick DeLeon is set to reunite for Sunday's nationally televised match vs. NYCFC (7:30pm ET; FS1), with Sarvas coming off a suspension, and DeLeon recovered from an illness.

As for Jeffrey, who looks to be the odd man out? Teammate Taylor Kemp told the Times not to worry.

“I give Jared a lot of credit for his mentality over the last couple years because it’s no secret he’s had to be patient for his opportunities. He’s a guy who’s really talented, works really hard and is a great pro. It’s easy when you get in a situation like his to lose focus or get frustrated and kind of want to throw in the towel, and he never did that.”