The second leg of FC Dallas’ rivalry series against Austin FC is coming up this weekend.
Like FC Dallas, Austin was in action over the September FIFA break, as they picked up a big win over Sporting KC.
Let’s dive into Austin and how FC Dallas can end their recent run of 1-1 draws.
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Key Player: Myrto Uzuni
Uzuni has started to get more comfortable in this Austin set up as the season gets closer to the finish. He's got five goals and three assists, with two of his goals coming in the last two matches.
Key Matchup: Owen Wolff vs Shaq Moore
Wolff got the better part of Moore in the club's last meeting in Austin when the Austin Homegrown beat Moore to a ball to tie the game up.
Availability Report1:
Suspended: none
Out: Brandon Vazquez (knee), Besard Sabovic (knee)
Questionable: none
On Loan: none
International duty: none
Quick Notes:
All time at Dallas: In six all-time meetings between the two clubs in Frisco, Austin has yet to win a game at Toyota Stadium. They've gone 0-5-1, with four goals scored and 11 scored against.
Recent form: Austin is 2-1-2 in their last five matches, including a two-game winning streak.
Where they're at in the standings: The Verde's two most recent wins have pushed them back up the standings a bit into sixth place, with 41 points. They're three points shy of fourth place Seattle.
Comparing the two clubs: Due to how much defense FC Dallas has had to play in recent weeks (including the last game against Austin), the duel meter is rising quite a bit. I'd still expect this to be a defensive battle.
Potential Lineup:
Nico Estevez will likely continue to use his 4-3-3, as he gets some players back from international duty.
Stuver; Biro, Svatok, Hines-Ike, Gallagher; Wolff, Sanchez, Pereira; Bukari, Uzuni, Rubio
Keys To Three Points over Austin
- Find ways forward: More than likely, we're going to see another game where FC Dallas gives up around 60% of the possession or more. Because of that, the times FC Dallas does get the ball, they need to be smart with how they get forward and to limit their turnovers in the midfield. Finding the wings will be part of the answer, but so will be finding Petar Musa in the penalty area.
- Bend but don't break defensively: This is where we're at, folks. A defense that is going to take in a ton of pressure, and at times, be pretty sloppy with the ball. Austin didn't get a ton of good looks on goal in the last meeting and I would expect a bit more of that in this game. Dallas will give up chances but it will come down to how good those chances are for Austin that will make a difference. The more they can limit Austin to weak or poor chances in and around the penalty area, the better.
- Finish your chances: I have a hard time breaking away from this bullet point in these scouting reports these days. If you look at the last couple of matches, the chances for FC Dallas to score have been very limited. They're making the most of what they are getting, but boy, would it be nice if we could get more than a handful of shots on target in a game for a change.
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1 Note: MLS has a injury report deadline that doesn’t hit until the day before each game. Our scouting reports will include last week's report and will be fully updated the day before with our injury report for FC Dallas.
