What to Watch For: FC Dallas vs. Atlanta United in Final Preseason Tune-Up

Preseason is where hope lives, but the final preseason match is where reality starts to actually creep in.

When FC Dallas takes on Atlanta United this weekend, it won’t just about fitness or minutes, it will be all about clarity. Who are the starters? How committed is manager Eric Quill is to certain players at this point. And does this team look ready to carry those tactics into the new season when matches actually count?

Here are the items I’ll be keeping a close watch for this weekend.

1. What does the best XI look like for Quill?

This preseason, we’ve seen a lot of rotation. I mean, a lot. In all honestly, none of that really worries me since Quill and his staff have fully landed on the 3-4-3 formation (or 5-2-3 as I like to call it).

This is the final dress rehearsal before the opener next weekend. If there is a time to roll out a group of starters, it will be this one.

Under Quill, the big question isn’t just who starts — it’s:

• Are the fullback spots settled?
• Is there a goalkeeper battle or not?
• Who gets the nod at the number 10 spot (for now)?

If we see the same group as last weekend’s match against New York from the start, it should be a signal of what is to come next week.

If we see a heavy rotation again in key roles, then buckle up, we’re in for a messy and probably rough start to the regular season. This final tune up is where the experimentation needs to turn into a final decision.

With that, here is how I see the projected starters for this match.

What This Tells Us

• Johansson gets the nod as a presumed starter after sitting out last week’s game due to visa-related issues.
• We get our first choice pairing up top.
• The midfield trio looks more familiar despite Delgado being in and out of the starting role most of the preseason.

If Quill rolls something close to this on Saturday, you can safely assume the opener lineup won’t look dramatically different.

2. What to expect out of Tata Martino’s Atlanta

Atlanta United has had a few rough seasons over the last few years. But now, they’re back with the guy that lead them to the promise land a while back: Tata Martino.

Say what you will about the Five Stripes, they’re rarely boring.

They still have a lot of questions to answer, including one big tactical one that Matt Doyle pointed out the other day along their wings:

Will they play with true wingers?

By that I mean "Will the left-footed Miguel Almirón play on the left and will the right-footed Saba Lobjanidze play on the right?" I actually think both players are better when they're not playing inverted, but it's rare to see teams play with two non-inverted wingers these days. It risks a fatal lack of pressure directly on goal.

So I'm not entirely convinced both these guys will be starters, and that could really change the way the Five Stripes look on a game-to-game (or even in-game) basis.

Atlanta won their match with New York in preseason the other day, but got two own goals (man the Red Bulls defense was trash, huh?) to help them out. Latte Lath is still a force to deal with and will provide a good test for the Dallas defense. Miguel Almiron is back with Martino, who always knew how to get the best out of him.

If Dallas can find ways to get forward and put their defense under pressure early on, this will be a nice way to close out the preseason. But if the defense gets put under pressure too often and the build-up play is rough again (like it was against New York last week, and presumably against Houston this past Wednesday), then we’ll have more homework to do before next week’s opener.

3. More out of the newcomers?

This one may be more about how good Herman Johansson looks in his first public outing in a Dallas uniform. We didn’t see him last week against New York, but I would assume he’ll get the start on Saturday in this one.

But should we see more out of any other newcomer? I’d love to get more clarity on Ran Binyamin, Caleb Swann, and Ricky Louis in this one. All had small moments last weekend against New York. Some good, some iffy.

4. Where will the goals come from?

It is the preseason and Dallas has found the back of the net a bunch so far, with 17 goals scored so far. Yes, the competition has been lacking in some of those matches, but this is the final test for the attack before it all truly matters.

Everyone wants to see goals. But more importantly, how they’re scored:

• Organized buildup? Not just a counter attack.
• Set pieces? Yeah, I have my doubts here, too.
• Chaos? An early chaos goal would be lovely.
• Individual brilliance? Just let Musa cook in the penalty area.

I think the thing that matters here is, if FC Dallas is generating some consistent, repeatable chances, that is big progress.

If it is just long balls and speed…that is less comforting.

5. Game management

Let’s be honest, the final preseason games can be truly weird. You want rhythm. You don’t want injuries and bad vibes. You also don’t want to show other teams too much.

Here are some final things to keep watch over:

• Substitution timing - Are we getting full lineup changes in the second half or just one or two guys?
• Whether starters get 75+ minutes - Are the legs ready to go?
• Late-game shape and discipline - Not giving up late goals and sloppy play

If we’re seeing starters go to around the 70-75 minute mark, it should tell us that Quill wants this match to be about getting the fitness locked in for the following week as much as getting a result.

If we get a heavy rotation of players, even around that 80 minute mark, I think it could signal that there is still some evaluations going on with some players.