Behind Enemy Lines: Scouting FC Juarez 🔎

FC Dallas has yet to face the Liga MX side in any competition.

Photo via Mexsport

FC Dallas will hope to escape West Group 3 in the League Cup on Wednesday night when they host Liga MX side FC Juarez for the first time in club history.

Juarez had some struggles early on this season in Liga MX but had the experience in the Leagues Cup to get out of a group by winning in Texas.

Key Player: Angel Zaldivar

Zaldivar currently leads Juarez in Liga MX this season with two goals.

Key Matchup: Francisco Calvo vs Petar Musa

The former MLSer will be tasked with stopping one of the league’s hottest strikers. The Costa Rican played in MLS from 2017-22 and has plenty of experience playing at Toyota Stadium over the years.

Availability Report¹:

Suspended: none
Out: none
Questionable: none
On Loan: none
International duty: none

Quick Notes:

Last year in the Leagues Cup, Juarez was placed in a Texan group. They went to Austin with fellow Liga MX side Mazatlan to battle Austin FC. Juarez escaped the group with a win over Austin and a draw against Mazatlan (they later lost on penalties). Their trip to the Knockout Round was short-lived as they faced LAFC in the First Round and were dominated 7-1.

Pre-Leagues Cup friendly: For some clubs, that was a thing this past weekend. FC Juarez lost a friendly to German side Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1.

Form going into Leagues Cup: There have only been four games in the Apertura this season in Mexico. So far, Juarez sits in 15th place with a 0-3-1 record.

Former MLSers: For those MLS diehards, there may be a few familiar faces on the Juarez roster. Francisco Calvo played in MLS for several seasons with Minnesota, Chicago and San Jose. Sebastian Saucedo was a homegrown player with Real Salt Lake who played with them for five seasons. Jairo Torress played two seasons with the Chicago Fire. Jonathan Gonzalez also played on loan in Minnesota.

Keys To Victory over Juarez

1. Manage the game: Just like in every game, there will be moments when FC Dallas needs to draw out Juarez and possess the ball for stretches at a time. When Dallas is solid in possession and can stretch out the field, good things tend to follow, as we saw in St. Louis on the goal with Sam Junqua. On the other end, it will be all about managing anything that Juarez throws their way.

2. Take the chances: Dallas had some decent moments in the penalty area on Saturday in St. Louis, but they failed to take a lot of risks until it was too late. Part of that is finding Petar Musa with the ball at his feet in the penalty area or letting him draw out opposing defenders while someone else sneaks into the penalty box to take a shot.

3. Find that spark: Peter Luccin's bench has been fairly good, and with this being a ‘win or go home’ kind of game in this competition, he will need those sparks off the bench yet again. Tarik Scott, Carl Sainte, Tomas Pondeca, and even someone like Bernard Kamungo can all provide that in this game.

1. Note: There is no official injury report for the League Cup, so we’re a bit in the dark about who is currently hurt for Juarez.