It feels like no time has passed since FC Dallas and Austin first squared off, but the schedule makers opted to get the Copa Tejas games out of the way before the summer hit this season. The two square off for the second time this weekend at Toyota Stadium.
Austin enters the game on a positive run since that last meeting, having won three out of their last five. Last weekend in Vancouver, Austin played a scoreless draw against the Whitecaps.
Key Player: Sebastian Driussi
Austin goes where Driussi goes. I wrote that sentence last time I did a scouting report of the Verde but nothing has changed there. You stop him; you definitely stop this Austin attack right now.
Key Matchup: Driussi vs Dallas defenders
I won’t single out any specific Dallas defender for this one. Whether it is Sebastien Ibeagha, Nkosi Tafari, or a midfielder like Liam Fraser or Asier Illarramendi, Dallas has to find ways to limit Driussi’s time on the ball both in and around the penalty area. He had too much freedom to create in the last meeting, leading to the Austin goals that doomed FCD at Q2 Stadium.
Availability Report1:
Suspended: none
Out: Daniel Pereira - Not Due to Injury
Questionable: none
On Loan: none
International duty: none
Quick Notes:
Our last meeting: FC Dallas traveled down I-35 to battle the Verde at the end of March. That match didn’t go so well for the visitors as Austin scored two late goals to seal the first win of the 2024 Copa Tejas series.
Three clean sheets in a row: After some struggled to begin the new season, Austin has settled in nicely lately, with three clean sheets, including last week in Vancouver.
Potential Lineup:
So far this season, Josh Wolff has stuck with a pretty consistent 4-2-3-1 lineup.
Stuver, Gallagher, Hines-Ike, Cascante, KolmaniÄŤ; Valencia, Ring; Obrian, Driuss, Findlay; Rigoni
Keys To Three Points over Austin
- Start strong: If we remove the Toronto game from our thoughts, FC Dallas has done well defensively in the last few games, picking up shutouts along the way. Part of that comes from the team starting better from the opening whistle. Given that this is a rivalry game, I would expect Austin to come out with more energy than FC Dallas will have to match in the first 15-20 minutes. But if FCD can put Austin on the backfoot early, it will set the tone for the rest of the match.
- Find the width: I love talking about finding the width of the field with this group, but I firmly believe that if you stretch teams out, good things can happen offensively. Austin struggles at defending along the wings and will give up space there if you challenge them along the wings. This can set up Petar Musa to be more dangerous in the penalty area, too.
- Force the fouls in dangerous spots: We saw a bit against Memphis in the US Open Cup and in the last two or three games that if you challenge teams with some pace in their defensive ends, fouls will be committed. Dallas needs to draw more fouls in this one on their offensive end, as Austin tends to give up bad fouls in tricky spots for their defense.
Note: MLS has a new injury report deadline that doesn’t hit until the Friday before each game. I will put last week’s report in these scouting reports and update where I can ahead of Friday's release from the league. ↩
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