San Diego FC has been on a run as of late. Since downing FC Dallas in their first meeting ever a couple of months ago, the expansion side has been rising up the Western Conference standings.
On Wednesday night in Vancouver, they reached the mountain top with a big 5-3 win over the Whitecaps to capture first place in the conference.
Let's dive into what San Diego brings to Saturday's game and how FC Dallas can rebound after a rough showing on Wednesday night.
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Key Player: Anders Dryer
The Danish playmaker has been arguably one of the best additions to MLS in 2025. His eight goals and 12 assists on the season put him in the league's MVP race at the midway point in the season. Should Chucky Lozano be out again this weekend for this match, all of the attacking focus will rest on what Dryer can do and create.
Key Matchup: Milan Iloski vs Lalas Abubakar
Illoski is coming off a four-goal game in Vancouver where he had a hat trick before half time. With Sebastien Ibeagha suspended and Osaze Urhoghide likely still out for another game due to injury, the defensive responsibilities have to fall on Abubakar in this one. I’m sure Alvaro Augusto will also be involved but Abubakar has to step up as the veteran here and guide the defense.
Availability Report1:
Suspended: none
Out: Hamady Diop (lower body), Marcus Ingvartsen (lower body), Willy Kumado (lower body), Paddy McNair (lower body), Andrés Reyes (lower body), Annisse Saidi (lower body)
Questionable: Hirving Lozano (lower body)
On Loan: none
International duty: Luca De La Torre, AnÃbal Godoy
Quick Notes:
Recent form: The expansion side has been on a bit of a run as of late that has pushed them to the top of the Western Conference. They’ve won seven out of their last 10 matches, including a big 5-3 win over Vancouver in Canada on Wednesday night.
Potential Lineup:
San Diego is going to be making the long road trip from Vancouver, so they should rotate some of their roster.
Dos Santos, Verhoeven, McVev, Pilcher, Loffelsend; Valakari, Boateng, Tverskov; Tverskov, Illoski, Dreyer
Keys To Three Points over San Diego
- Limit the mistakes in the defensive third: On Wednesday night, we saw too many little mistakes in the midfield and defensive third that led to easy chances for San Jose. This San Diego team is just as lethal in front of the net and will punish you for those mistakes. Dallas has to take care of the ball and find ways to relieve the pressure on the backline.
- Find the wings: Yeah, I’m back to pointing out the wing play for FC Dallas as a key against another team. Against San Jose on Wednesday and even back to the win in KC, Dallas was able to create chances when they got the ball out wide. The midfield needs to find ways to involve Lucho Acosta early and allow him to build off his assist Wednesday night with Petar Musa.
- Handle the press: This one does with the first point, but in the first meeting against San Diego, Dallas struggled at handling the pressure the expansion side brought up the field. It wasn’t a full-on press like what a New York or Kansas City does, but it was enough to pressure Dallas into mistakes that lead to goals. The build up play out of the back has to be clean.
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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.
