FC Dallas has officially been eliminated from playoff contention, so tonight’s game against the Portland Timbers is kind of meaningless, right? Maybe. Either way, we’re here to break it all down.

Both clubs have their lineups in, so let’s break them down.

Quick thoughts

Oh hey! The return of a 4-3-3? It kind of reads that way but we will have to wait until kickoff to really see if this is more of a 3-4-3 again under Peter Luccin or something else entirely.

Up top, we end our string of games with the Designated Player trio as Petar Musa and Jesus Ferreira are on the bench. Logan Farrington starts over Musa, while Bernard Kamungo starts over Ferreira next to Alan Velasco.

The midfield is an interesting trio of Sebastian Lletget, Show and Asier Illarramendi. That could be a good way to slow down the tough Timber’s attack.

Defensively, we don’t see Maarten Paes again this weekend as he’s dealing with a wrist injury. Jimmy Maurer gets possibly his final start of the year (and his career) with a four-man defensive group that includes Sam Junqua and Paul Arriola on the wings with Sebastien Ibeagha and Marco Farfan in the middle. Yeah, you counted correctly, one center defender with two fullbacks and a winger in the defense. Okay.

How FC Dallas can win

We will see some guys play for their 2025 contracts here tonight, so if that is enough motivation, I’m good with it.

Who we could see in the second half

I suppose we could see Musa and Ferreira in this one. Patrickson Delgado and Tsiki Ntsabeleng seem like decent bets as well. And if Luccin wants to add someone defensive there is always Nkosi Tafari.

Injury Report

Suspended: none
Out: Geovane Jesus (Right knee), Paxton Pomykal (knee), Liam Fraser (upper leg)
Questionable: Maarten Paes (wrist)
On Loan: Isaiah Parker
International Duty: none

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Here is what Portland is working with

A tiny bit of rotation from Wednesday for the Timbers.

How to watch

📅 Date: Sunday, October 6, 2024
⚽️ Kickoff: 6:00 PM
🏟 Venue: Providence Park
📺 Streaming: MLS Season Pass
💬 Gameday Social: #FCDvPTFC
☀️ Weather: 68, sunny