New York City FC has been hot and cold in 2025, while sporting one of the league’s top defensive groups. The Pigeons come into Friday’s game at FC Dallas searching for their third road win of the season.
Let’s dive into NYCFC to see what they bring to the field on Friday and how FC Dallas can get some points at home.
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Key Player: Hannes Wolf
The Austrian forward is tied for most NYCFC goals (9) and assists (4) on the season. If he can find space in and around the penalty area, he can be pretty dangerous. The big question coming into this one will be whether or not he’ll play after being out last weekend with a leg injury.
Key Matchup: Petar Musa vs Thiago Martins
Musa has been red-hot as of late, scoring in six of his last nine games. Martins has been one of the more dependable center backs in the league over the last couple of seasons.
Availability Report1:
Suspended: none
Out: Malachi Jones (leg), Keaton Parks (leg)
Questionable: Hannes Wolf (leg)
On Loan: none
International duty: none
Quick Notes:
Recent history vs FC Dallas: The Pigeons have a strong record against FC Dallas since joining MLS. They have not lost to FC Dallas since the very first meeting back in the 2015 meeting. Since then they’ve gone 3-0-4, including two straight wins in 2022 and 2023.
Recent form: City is 2-2-1 in their last five games, including a 1-1 draw last weekend at Sporting KC.
Road form in 2025: NYCFC has two wins this season away from the Bronx, with road wins coming at Toronto, and more recently two weeks ago, at Orlando.
Comparing the two clubs: NYCFC has been a bit more consistent in most areas of play this season when stacking them up to FC Dallas. Where Dallas can hang their hats on getting the better of them could come down to how frequently they win duels in this match.
Potential Lineup:
Pascal Jansen has stuck it out with a 4-3-3 this season.
Matt Freese; Kevin O'Toole, Justin Haak, Thiago Martins, Mitja IleniÄŤ; Andres Perea, Maxi Moralez, Aiden O'Neill; Hannes Wolf, Alonso MartĂnez, Julián Fernández
Keys To Three Points over NYCFC
- Limit Martinez and Wolff: We may see NYCFC debut their new DP, Nico Fernandez, this weekend. But even as he’s getting used to his new teammates, defensively Dallas will need to figure out a way to slow down Wolff and Alonso Martinez. Both lead the club with nine goals apiece and when those two aren’t clicking, their attack suffers. Keeping both of those guys at bay and limit what they do in the penalty area will go a long way in creating a winning streak here for Eric Quill’s club.
- Make the most of your chances: City does not give up a lot of goals (26 goals given up in 23 games), they're one of the better defenses in MLS as a result. We know Dallas doesn't get a high level amount of shots in a match this season, but they do well at finishing the chances that they end up getting. Petar Musa will need to continue to find ways to get the ball in and around the penalty area to test Matt Freese, while also setting up chances for other players.
- Maintain that momentum: Last Saturday was a relief for FC Dallas fans. Not only did they snap the long winless streak at home that extended back to late March, but it also showed that this FC Dallas team can put together a complete 90 minutes.
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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.
