The final leg of the Texas Derby is here. FC Dallas will face the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night at BBVA Stadium.
A win for FC Dallas will see them retain El Capitan for a third straight season.
Note: Houston plays Austin tonight, so some of this scouting could get changed based on the result of that match.
Key Player: Hector Herrera
Everything still flows through Herrera with the Dynamo. Even playing down a man for 85 minutes a couple of weeks ago in Dallas, when Herrera came onto the field, the Dynamo were able to finally push the ball forward into their own attacking end. He scored last week in Kansas City, so the juices are probably starting to flow for him and their attack now.
Key Matchup: Hector Herrera vs Liam Fraser
It's a classic Mexican-Canadian matchup in the midfield. Fraser has been quietly good for FC Dallas this season at slowing down some key opposition players. If he can stop Herrera from finding those pockets of space in the attack, Dallas will have a good shot at picking up points in this one.
Availability Report1:
Suspended: none
Out: Sebastian Ferreira (Lower Body), Nelson Quinones (Knee)
Questionable: Franco Escobar (lower body)
On Loan: none
International duty: none
Quick Notes:
Struggling attack: Just like FC Dallas, the Dynamo have struggled to find the back of the net so far in 2024. As of this writing, they’ve scored 11 goals, the second-fewest in MLS.
Last win against FCD at home: FC Dallas last lost in Houston near the end of the 2021 season. This game also saw the end of the Luchi Gonzalez era, as he was fired following the loss.
Potential Lineup:
Ben Olsen has settled into a 4-3-3 this season and could rotate some of these players after their game on Wednesday against Austin.
Clark, Steres, Micael, Bartlow, Dorsev; Artur, Herrera, Carrasquilla; Bassi, Kowalczyk, Blessing
Keys To Three Points over Houston
- Use the rivalry passion: We’ve seen a couple of different versions of FC Dallas this season against their rivals. They’ve been calm and cool at home to get the job done against Austin and Houston. On the road in Austin, it was a team that looked a lot more timid. FC Dallas has to come out strong in this one on Saturday, just like they did both times at home against Austin and Houston, to get early chances at the goal.
- Keep growing that connection: Petar Musa's goal and assist last week were excellent to see, but the setup on his assist to Jesus Ferreira should give Dallas fans a lot of good feelings about where this club can go this season. These two need more time on the field together, and this is another opportunity to grow that partnership.
- Stay sound defensively: The main talking point in the locker room after the first Houston game was how they expect a big battle in the return leg. Defensively, Dallas has to continue to do what they’ve mostly been doing for the last month and a half: limit good chances on goal while stretching the opposition out on the wings in transition.
Note: MLS has a new injury report deadline: the Friday before each game. For now, I will include last week's injury report in our weekly scouting reports. ↩
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