With a playoff spot clinched, FC Dallas now turns their sights on securing El Capitan and the Texas Derby for another season when they take on the Houston Dynamo tonight.
Both teams are coming off games last weekend and in the midweek, and will likely be rotating their lineups a bit to deal with the heavy legs. Dallas is coming off a 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders, while the Dynamo gave up a late goal in a wild 3-3 draw with San Diego FC on Wednesday night.
Let’s dive into some notes, predictions, and more.
TL;DR: Match Preview
Quick hits before kickoff.
- Score prediction: FC Dallas 1 - 1 Houston Dynamo
- Key player to watch: Petar Musa - He has four goals and one assist in six regular season games against the Dynamo. He needs to add to that here.
- Why this game matters: It is the Texas Derby. Need we say more?
FC Dallas Notes:
All-time vs Houston: Dallas currently holds a 17-14-20 record in all-time regular season meetings with the Dynamo.
Road record vs Houston: FC Dallas has picked up a few victories over the years in Houston, including one last year. But the overall road record in Houston sits at 5-10-11.
Homegrown clock: FC Dallas has had four Homegrown players earn minutes this season (Michael Collodi, Nolan Norris, Caleb Swann and Josh Torquato). The group has amassed a total of 2943 minutes.
Notable season stats:
- FCD is 23rd in crosses in MLS with 279.
- The Burn are 17th in total distance covered in MLS with 3330.03 km (2069.18
miles) - FCD is 3rd in MLS in aerial challenges won with 380.
- FC Dallas is 20th in MLS in xG with 45.99.
- FCD is 3rd in MLS in shot efficiency with 7.01.
- Musa is 6th in MLS in xG with 15.3. He also ranks 14th in MLS in shots with 78.
Potential FC Dallas Lineup:
This is the third game in seven days, Eric Quill stated after the win on Wednesday night that he would likely be rotating his roster a bit on Saturday night.
Your turn: pick the XI
Think the crowd has it wrong? Pick your own FC Dallas starting eleven below. No sign-up needed, and your picks feed straight into the crowd XI above.
FC Dallas lineups on Starting11
Availability & Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended with next yellow card: Nolan Norris
Suspended with next two yellow cards: Osaze Urhoghide, Shaq Moore, Sam Sarver
Season-ending injury list: Kaka Scabin
Out: Logan Farrington (lower body)
Questionable: none
On Loan: Malachi Molina (Nashville SC), Enzo Newman (North Texas SC), Jaidyn Contreras (Tigres)
Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Benji Flowers
International duty: none
Houston Notes:
Key player for Houston: Guilherme
Drew Epperley
Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Availability Report
Out: Felipe Andrade (lower body), Jimmy Maurer (back)
Questionable: none
International duty: none
Big game this week for FC Dallas. Before we get into it, members have the full scouting report, projected lineups, and injury report. If you want to go into Matchday actually knowing what to watch for, now's the time.
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