The tenth game of the 2023 season is upon us here as FC Dallas remains on the road this weekend for the second straight week when they take on Minnesota United.
The two sides met earlier this season in the 2023 opener, where Minnesota was able to get revenge on FC Dallas for knocking them out of the playoffs a year ago with a 1-0 win at Toyota Stadium.
Coming into Sunday’s game, the Loons have lost three straight games after opening the season with a five-game unbeaten run.
Key Player: Sang Bin Jeong
While the new signing for the Loons hasn’t caught fire yet in three appearances, given the Emanuel Reynoso-sized hole in their attack still, he’s about the only guy making things happen lately during their three-game losing streak.
Key Matchup: Sang Bin Jeong vs Facundo Quignon
You could easily swap Quignon for Edwin Cerrillo here, but given that the veteran has started the last couple of matches, we’ll discuss him here in this matchup with Minnesota’s defacto #10 at the moment. Jeong isn’t a traditional #10, but he is a guy that does well at playing direct in the attack. If Quignon is able to close down the passing lanes in the middle of the field, it could help keep the Loons’ attack at bay on Sunday.
Quick Notes:
Made it count in the USOC - After an early scare by Detroit City, the Loons scored three goals in a ten-minute stretch to advance to the Round of 32.
Recent struggles - Minnesota United has lost three straight games after going unbeaten in its first five this season (W3 D2), including a season-opening win over FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium. This is the second time Minnesota has followed up a five-match unbeaten start to a season with three straight losses (also in 2020), something no other team has done in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
Gives up a lot in the back - Minnesota United has been outshot by 34 this season (84 attempts, 118 faced), but the quality of those shots has been vastly different. The Loons' 84 shots have a higher combined expected goals value (9.46) than the 118 shots they've faced (9.31) this season.
Finally shutout - Going into last weekend’s game in Seattle, Minnesota had yet to be shut out in every game of 2023. Their 1-0 loss was the first shutout of the year.
Availability Report:
Suspended: Emanuel Reynoso
Out: Bakaye Dibassy (thigh), Ryen Jiba (knee), Mikael Marques (ankle)
Questionable: none
Potential Lineup:
Minnesota head coach Adrian Heath has been using a 4-2-3-1 type look this season, with Reynoso being out on his suspension. While his club did have a USOC game to deal with on Tuesday in Detroit, there isn’t too much expectation for Heath to need to rotate his squad for this game.
St. Claire; Lawrence, Tapias, Boxall, Taylor; Arriaga, Dotson; Hlongwane, Jeong; Lod; Garcia
For more on the Loons ahead of this weekend’s game, check out our friends from the old network at Northland Soccer Journal (formerly E Pluribus Loonum). Click the link below to visit their site.
Keys To Three Points over Minnesota
Protect against the long ball - One thing Nico Estevez mentioned to the press on Wednesday was how Minnesota does a good job with long balls in their attack. FCD gave up some bad long balls last weekend in NYC, so they’ll need to make sure their defensive line is holding strong so they don’t give up easy balls over the top.
Limit turnovers in the midfield - Things have been a tad sloppy in the midfield lately. Minnesota is a team that is comfortable not having the ball, according to Estevez, so FC Dallas will need to be smart on the ball and pick their moments in the attack so as not to give up easy turnovers that lead to quick counterattacks.
Take more chances around the goal - In the last meeting with the Loons, FC Dallas struggled to put together quality chances on goal. They’ve been better since that game in front of goal, but on the road, they’ll have to be sure to make the most of their chances and put away Minnesota as early as they can.
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