Behind Enemy Lines: Scouting Minnesota United 🔎

Man, it only seems like yesterday that we were getting ready for the first game with Minnesota United. Heck, that was just a little over a week ago when FC Dallas traveled north to battle the Loons in what turned out to be former head coach Nico Estevez’s final game. That one ended in a 1-1 draw.

Minnesota enters tomorrow’s rematch fresh off a 2-0 loss of their own last weekend in Seattle.

While we normally would have skipped the scouting report when games are this close on the schedule between FC Dallas and another team, this one has to be discussed, given that Minnesota won’t be missing nine players due to international duty this time. They’ll miss just four this time around, thanks to the upcoming Copa America tournament.

Key Player: Robin Lod

While the club will still lack leading scorer Tani Oluwaseyi (due to Copa America), the Finnish international is back and ready to lead his squad in the second half of the season. Lod currently leads Minnesota with 10 assists this season and is second in the team in scoring behind Oluwaseyi with five.

Key Matchup: Lod vs Aiser Illarramendi

The two veteran midfielders will square off on Wednesday night in what should be a fun clash of styles.

Availability Report1:

Suspended: Moses Nyeman
Out: Hugo Bacharach (knee), DJ Taylor (leg), Teemu Pukki (knee)
Questionable: none
On Loan: Ethan Bristow, Derek Dodson, Mikel Marques
International duty: Alejandro Bran (Costa Rica), Carlos Harvey (Panama),Tani Oluwaseyi (Canada), Dayne St. Clair (Canada)

Quick Notes:

Last time in Frisco: Minnesota came out and found three points on the road against FC Dallas in the 2023 season opener. Minnesota hasn’t lost in Frisco since the 2020 season (2-0-2 in their last four trips to Toyota Stadium).

Shotless in Seattle: Minnesota attempted just five shots in its defeat at Seattle last weekend, failing to hit the target with any of them. It marked just the fourth time in club history that Minnesota failed to register a shot on target in a match and the first since September 2022.

Recent run: It has been a bit of a slow start to the summer for the Loons. They’ve gone 1-2-2 in their last five, including a pair of road losses at LAFC and Seattle.

Potential Lineup:

The Loons will likely be rotating several players into their lineup again after being on the road last Saturday in Seattle.

Irwin, Clark, Arriaga, Boxall, Taoias, Padelford; Trapp, Dotson, Lod; Hlongwane, Sang-Bin

Keys To Three Points over Minnesota

1. More passion: This seems to be the theme under Peter Luccin for FC Dallas, but the more passion and energy this team shows on the field, the better they tend to be this season. I believe winning over St. Louis in Luccin’s first match was a nice relief for the team, but they must avoid being complacent again and put teams away when they can.
2. Be better in the build-up play: While the club was better against St. Louis, there were still moments in the game when they failed to get the ball forward out of the back in a quick and efficient manner. Minnesota is good enough to pounce on those mistakes in the back (we saw that in the previous meeting between these two squads) and make FCD pay for not being better out of the back.
3. Take your shot: FC Dallas was probably a tad lucky against St. Louis, scoring two goals on only four shots on goal (and 10 shots total). Minnesota is better defensively than St. Louis and, as we saw in their previous meeting, does a good job of clamping down on those chances in front of the goal. Dallas has to make more of what they get in the penalty area in this one.