Let's dive into Sporting and what they bring to Saturday's game, and how FC Dallas can continue to pick up more points away from home.
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Key Player: Daniel Salloi
I don’t know how we don’t single out Salloi here, even if it feels like a broken record at this point. Salloi has always been a thorn in FCD’s side. He has nine regular season goals against FC Dallas, including the lone SKC goal in the meeting between the two clubs earlier this season.
Key Matchup: Dejan Joveljic vs Sebastien Ibeagha
With Osaze Urhoghide out for another match, the defensive responsibilities will rest with Ibeagha. Joveljic currently leads Sporting this season with ten goals, including one last weekend against LAFC.
Availability Report1:
Suspended: none
Out: Nemanja Radoja (quad), Dany Rosero (ankle), Erik Thommy (groin), Robert Voloder (Clavicle)
Questionable: none
On Loan: none
International duty: none
Quick Notes:
All-time vs FCD at Children's Mercy Park: SKC has a decent 17-12-9 record in all-time meetings at Children's Mercy Park.
Recent run against FCD: Last year, SKC picked up a pair of wins in league play and in Open Cup play. In the last five league matches with FCD, the series has been fairly split. SKC has a 2-3-0 record during that span.
Recent form: In their last five games, SKC has been on the road for four of those five matches. During that span, they have gone 1-1-3, with their lone win coming two weeks ago against Houston.
Comparing the two clubs: It shouldn't be shocking to see that these two clubs are below the playoff line right now and have been struggling at times this season. Neither are truly 'great' at any specific area right now in 2025.
Potential Lineup:
Kerry Zavagnin has mostly kept with the 4-3-3 that former boss Peter Vermes used to run.
Pulskamp; Shelton, Miller, Fernandez, Ndenbe; Garcia, Bartlett, Rodriquez; Salloi, Joveljic, Munoz
Keys To Three Points over SKC
- Handle that press: We know Sporting is still going to press and play a bit more with speed up top in this one, especially in those opening minutes to try and rattle FC Dallas. At times this season, FC Dallas has handled a press well, but there have been games (ie: San Diego) where they've struggled with a press and then were caught in chasing the game mode for too long. Dallas will need to start strong in this one and find a way to slow the match down a bit.
- Keep building through the wings: Part of that slow down needs to be from building out the attack through the wings. I know I've brought this up a lot lately, but the attack really has been at its best in recent weeks when the team finds width on the field and moves the ball up along the wings, instead of the middle of the park. This allows Lucho Acosta to pull players towards him and open up space for others like Anderson Julio to run at defenders with speed.
- Be sound defensively: This does go with the first item. Given the players out or suspended this weekend in the defense, the rest of the group will need to step up and play similar to how we saw against Philadelphia two weeks ago. I'd also like to
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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.
