San Diego FC has quietly turned into a bad matchup for FC Dallas since joining Major League Soccer in 2025. The Southern California club has scored three or more goals in all three or more goals in all three meetings, including a 5-0 result the last time the two squared off at SnapDragon Stadium. They are a team that FC Dallas hasn’t fully solved yet, though it isn’t a true pattern to get too worked up over either.
Here is the twist: this version of San Diego isn’t the one that racked up those numbers in the previous meetings. The hosts sit near the bottom of the Western Conference standings with 17 points through 16 games. While Dallas arrives in 5th place and Petar Musa currently leads the MLS Golden Boot race with 13 goals. On paper, Dallas is the better team right now. But games aren’t played on paper.
Let’s dive into some notes, predictions, and more.
TL;DR: Match Preview
Quick hits before kickoff.
- Score prediction: FC Dallas 2 - 1 San Diego FC
- Key player to watch: Petar Musa - He had a hat trick earlier this season against San Diego.
- Why this game matters: After dropping points on Wednesday night, Dallas needs to get one back before a busy August that will include 8 games on the road (5 MLS and 3 Leagues Cup).
FC Dallas Notes:
All-time vs San Diego: Dallas is currently 0-2-1 in three all-time meetings with the Southern California side. The two met earlier this year, with Petar Musa scoring a hat trick to help Dallas secure a come-from-behind draw.
Road record at San Diego: 0-1-0…and yeah, let’s not dive too deep into that 5-0 loss from last season.
Homegrown clock: Both Michael Collodi and Nolan Norris have gobbled up a good amount of minutes in 2026. Norris also has one goal on the season. Caleb Swann also made his debut off the bench in New York. Together, they have played 2166 minutes. To add more perspective here, Dallas HGPs only accounted for 1775 minutes in 2025.
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Notable season stats:
- FCD is 17th in crosses in MLS with 172.
- The Burn are 10th in total distance covered in MLS with 60.91 km (1156.31
miles). - FCD is third in MLS in aerial challenges won with 230.
- FC Dallas is 11th in MLS in xG with 27.69.
- FCD is 4th in MLS in shot efficiency with 4.31.
- Musa is 4th in MLS in xG with 10.20. He also ranks tied for 8th in MLS in shots with 51.
Potential FC Dallas Lineup:
Given the rotation we saw off the bench in Portland, there should be a similar mix of rotated players to start out in this one. Petar Musa and Bernard Kamungo should start from the beginning, instead of off the bench.
Availability & Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended with next yellow card: Osaze Urhoghide, Nolan Norris, Sam Sarver
Suspended with next two yellow cards: none
Season-ending injury list: Kaka Scabin
Out: Ramiro (foot)
Questionable: none
On Loan: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Enes Sali (Al-Riyadh), Malachi Molina (Nashville SC), Geovane Jesus (North Texas SC), Enzo Newman (North Texas SC)
Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Jaidyn Contreras
International duty: none
San Diego Notes:
Key player for San Diego: Anders Dreyer
Drew Epperley
Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended on next yellow card: none
Availability Report
Out: Amahl Pellegrino (lower body), Pablo Sisniega (lower back)
Questionable: none
International duty: none
How to watch
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.
