Our opposition research is back this week as we dive into FC Dallas’ next opponent, St. Louis CITY SC.

This week Justin Horneker from Talkin’ Soccer joins us to discuss St. Louis CITY SC and how things are going (or not going) for them this season. Be sure to give Justin a follow on BlueSky and check out his excellent blog that covers soccer in the Gateway City and more.

Injury report

St. Louis CITY SC’s biggest enemy this season has been the availability report. Things are trending upward, Edu Löwen has returned and could be cleared for 45+ minutes this weekend, Chris Durkin could also make an appearance, but the shoulder injury suffered by Célio Pompeu towards the end of Sunday’s 2-1 win over Portland could be a big issue. St. Louis haven’t had much success when Cedric Teuchert starts out wide over Célio but injuries have required caretaker manager David Critchley to be flexible in his preferred lineup. St. Louis haven’t been at full strength this season and it’s looking increasingly likely that they won’t see their best XI at any point. The roster moves this weekend reflect that unfortunate reality.

Recent Form

The win over Portland was needed after weeks of incremental improvement under Critchley. The elephant In the room is that St. Louis have yet to win without Edu Löwen in the lineup, but Sunday’s comeback kicked off before he entered the match. It’s been important, St. Louis haven’t to be nearly perfect from here out if they are to make the playoffs, there is no room for error. St. Louis will need to beat Dallas to get there but to do so, they’ll have to win on the road for just the second time this season, the first time under Critchley.

Projected Starting Lineup/Formation

4-2-3-1
Klauss
Teuchert-Hartel-Becher
Wallem-Ostrák
Orozco-Yaro-Girdwood Reich-Totland

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Key players to watch out for

Marcel Hartel has been the driver lately with four goal contributions in the past two matches but João Klauss has also found his game over the past month. The Brazilian has six goals in the last seven matches and hasn’t been held scoreless in back to back matches since the coaching change.

One thing St. Louis does better than anyone else in MLS

The story of the season is… well… nothing. However! There has been a major course correction. David Critchley wants his squad’s PPDA number among the top teams in the league, so far they’ve been exactly that, dictating the tempo far more often than their directionless play earlier this season.