The first match in this year’s Copa Tejas is here as FC Dallas heads south this weekend to take on Austin FC.

Both clubs are coming into Saturday’s match needing a win in a desperate kind of way at this stage in the 2024 season. Each has given up the same amount of goals (eight) and scored the same amount (five) through their first few games of the year. The difference right now is that FC Dallas has one win on the season and Austin has zero.

Key Player: Sebastian Driussi

Austin goes where Driussi goes. That much has been true for a couple of seasons now. If FC Dallas can limit his time on the ball around the penalty box, it will go a long way in finding some much-needed points on the road this weekend.

Key Matchup: Petar Musa vs Matt Hedges

It still feels super weird to see Hedges in a green uniform these days, but here we are. Musa needs to assert his game badly after not finding he back of the net on some decent chances in the last two matches. Hedges will likely want to show his old team that they made a mistake letting him go too, so this battle will be a fun one to watch.

Availability Report1:

Suspended: none
Out: Žan Kolmanič (Hamstring), Leo Väisänen (Foot)
Questionable: none
On Loan: none
International duty: none

Quick Notes:

Last year against FC Dallas: The clubs met three times in 2023. FC Dallas took down Austin in the first match at Q2 Stadium before losing there a couple of weeks later. In the lone meeting at Toyota Stadium, FC Dallas picked up a 1-0 win over their rivals.

Current struggles overall: Austin has been reeling for a while now. They have a 1-8-7 record in their last 16 MLS games. You could add in a couple of losses in last year’s Leagues Cup to that tally if you wanted to, as well. Both at home to Mexican sides Juarez and Mazatlan.

Struggling to create chances: Austin only has eight shots on goal in five games this season2.

Potential Lineup:

So far this season, Josh Wolff has stuck with a pretty consistent 4-2-3-1 lineup.

Stuver, Gallagher, Hedges, Cascante, KolmaniÄŤ; Valencia, Ring; Obrian, Driuss, Findlay; Rigoni

Keys To Three Points over Austin

  1. Start strong: Four games in for FC Dallas, and six goals given up in the first half. The club has to find a way to start better in matches and not give up cheap goals early on in a game. The key here will be getting the ball forward into the attack quickly and making the most of the chances on goal. Make Austin chase the game at home.
  2. Dictate the pace: To go along with the first point, if FC Dallas can dictate the pace of this game and keep Austin on their heels, it will go a long way in keeping the pressure off the defense for a change. FC Dallas has to be smart on the ball in this one and get back to creating more chances for Jesus Ferreira and Petar Musa in the attack.
  3. Don’t give Austin an inch: The Verde haven’t won a game since last July. Seriously, they’re reeling at the moment and haven’t looked good to start 2024. FC Dallas has to continue what other clubs have done so far this season against them: hit them hard and force them into easy mistakes in the back. Austin will be desperate in this game for a positive result, so FC Dallas has to be on guard not to give them anything easy, too.

  1. 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. ↩

  2. Hat tip to Phil West over at Verde All Day for doing the math on that number. ↩