Our opposition research is back for another week here at Big D Soccer. Tomorrow FC Dallas takes on Austin FC for the first time in 2025, as they look to remain in the race for this year's Copa Tejas crown.
Today, Phil West of Verde All Day steps up to help give us a bit more detail about this version of Austin FC ahead of tomorrow's Copa Tejas battle.
Injury report
Well, you know about the Brandon Vázquez injury that sort of upended the team but also solved the issue of Vázquez and Myrto Uzuni not being able to play together. Oleksandr Svatok had a concussion a few games ago and had some bad individual moments in the two games since he got back, including conceding a penalty against D.C. United and having a Jack McGlynn shot deflect off his foot allowing Houston a complete comeback from a 2-0 deficit to draw Austin last time out. Maybe there's not a connection, but also, maybe?
Recent Form
They're 4-1-2 in their last seven games, averaging two points a game, so it's a pretty good place to be, though both draws were pretty disappointing.
Projected Starting Lineup/Formation
Stuver; Desler, Svatok, Hines-Ike, Biro; Bukari, Ilie, Pereira, Wolff; Rubio, Uzuni (ostensibly a 4-4-2, but really morphs into a 4-3-3 or probably actually a 4-5-1)
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Key players to watch out for
In this deep dive article, I highlight two of them: Owen Wolff, who is having an outstanding season especially considering that he's still just 20 years old, and Osman Bukari, who has been making defenders look absolutely silly in recent weeks.
One thing Austin does better than anyone else in MLS
Uh ... blowing a two-goal lead to mathematically eliminate themselves from Copa Tejas? (That draw against the Dynamo is the quintessential "draw that feels like a loss" and fans are pretty salty about it.) It's hard to answer this question seriously just because they've been so enigmatic this season, starting out as more of a bunker and counter team and recently being more of a scoring team. While they do generally well to defend deep, they do have the occasional defensive lapse that puts Brad Stuver in a bad spot. Otherwise, they have Brad Stuver, and maybe that's what they're best at — having a stylish community-minded goalkeeper that makes some jaw-dropping saves.
