The final two home games for FC Dallas are here as they host the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night at Toyota Stadium.

Colorado is currently the only Western Conference team that has been eliminated from playoff contention and is starting to play the spoiler role as they picked up a 1-0 win last weekend at home against Austin FC.

Let’s dive into how FC Dallas can pick up three points at home tomorrow against their old rivals.

Key Player: Connor Ronan

Connor Ronan assisted Colorado's lone goal in its 1—0 win over Austin on Saturday, his 10th assist of the regular season. Ronan has scored (1) or assisted (9) on 10 of the Rapids' 18 goals since the beginning of May.

Key Matchup: Andrew Gutman vs Ema Twumasi

We saw in the previous meeting between FC Dallas and Colorado how dangerous Gutman can be on the wings from his defensive position. Dallas struggled in that meeting to contain Gutman, and the defender was able to get forward into the attack a lot.

Quick Notes:

Recent run against FC Dallas: Colorado has won four of its last five meetings with FC Dallas, including the last two in a row, with all four wins coming at home. The Rapids last won three in a row over Dallas in 2000-01, though they'll need to win in Dallas to do so, something they haven't done in their last eight visits in all competitions (D3 L5).

Looking for two in a row: Colorado's 1-0 victory over Austin on Saturday was its second win in its last five MLS matches (D1 L2) after winning just one of its previous 15 league games (D4 L10). The Rapids last won two straight MLS matches on September 10-14, 2022.

Away in 2023: The Rapids only have five total wins this season, but two of them did come away at Kansas City and LA. Their last road win was against the Galaxy back in May.

Availability Report:

Suspended: Moise Bombito
Out: Alex Gersbach (adductor tendon surgery), Aboubacar Keita (lower body), Jack Price (Achilles), William Yarbrough (knee surgery), Max (removed from team activities)
Questionable: Sidnei Tavares (illness)
International duty: none

Potential Lineup:

Following the firing of Robin Fraser, the Rapids continue to use a 4-3-2-1 formation, though it will look a bit different than when these two squared off back in July.

Illic; Anderson, Abubakar, Maxsø, Gutman; Bassett, Ronan; Harris, Rubio, Nicholson, Navarro

Keys To Three Points over Colorado

  1. Control the pace - We know Colorado is a tough out for FC Dallas, but as long as FC Dallas forces the Rapids to chase this game and not get comfortable in possession like they did back in July when the two sides squared off in Commerce City, we should see a positive result.
  2. Finish your chances - It may seem like a broken record at this point, but for FC Dallas to reach the postseason, they have to make the most of their chances in front of the goal. They can no longer afford to end a game with four or five shots total and expect points. They have to be more lethal in their attack, take more chances and finish those chances.
  3. Be smart defensively - The Rapids are indeed the spoiler in this one, so defensively, FC Dallas cannot afford to give up sloppy passes in the back between their defenders and the midfield (or with keeper Maarten Paes). While the Rapids have struggled on the road in 2023 and have one of the worst attacks in MLS (only 24 goals scored all season), they did put up two against FC Dallas in the last outing.