FC Dallas hits the road tomorrow night to take on Western Conference rivals Real Salt Lake in a midweek match.
RSL is coming off a 2-1 loss over the weekend to the San Jose Earthquakes, while FC Dallas had a fairly disappointing 1-1 draw at home against the Seattle Sounders.
Earlier this season, the two sides met in Frisco, where FC Dallas came away with a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Jesus Ferreira and Bernard Kamungo.
Let’s dive into how FC Dallas can pick up points against Real Salt Lake.
Key Player: Cristian Arango
The former LAFC DP has scored in his last three matches and could become the fifth RSL player to score in at least four straight regular-season games. Arango has scored five goals in three career matches against FC Dallas, including a hat-trick in his first match against FCD in October 2021.
Key Matchup: Arango vs Nkosi Tafari
Tafari has to get the start on Wednesday, right? You’d think so, given how he came off the bench against Seattle and performed well against their attack last Saturday. RSL attacks well with speed, and Dallas will need an athletic center back combo to slow them down around the penalty area. Tafari (and Sebastian Ibeagha) are the guys you want for this job.
Quick Notes:
Standing separation: With the playoff race heating up each time out, FC Dallas is currently just five points back of RSL in the Western Conference race, with a game in hand as well. So all points matter here.
Recent run at home: Real Salt Lake has won five of its last seven home matches in all competitions (L2), totaling 15 goals in the five wins and failing to score in the two defeats. Prior to winning five of seven at home, RSL had won just five of its previous 18 at America First Field in all competitions (D6 L7).
At home against FC Dallas: RSL has earned points in 17 of 25 all-time FC Dallas visits to Utah, going 12-8-5. One of those FC Dallas wins came last year when FCD won 1-0, snapping a run of 10 consecutive home games without a loss.
Availability Report:
Suspended: Brayan Vera (yellow card accumulation)
Out: Erik Holt (shoulder), Pablo Ruiz (knee)
Questionable: none
International duty: none
On loan: Jaziel Orozco (Larne FC), Ilijah Paul (Larne FC), Delentz Pierre (Colorado Springs Switchbacks), Julio Benitez (Forward Madison), Axel Kei (Real Monarchs), Moses Nyeman (Real Monarchs), Luis Rivera (Real Monarchs), Jude Wellings (Real Monarchs), Zack Farnswort (Real Monarchs)
Potential Lineup:
Pablo Mastroeni sticks with a 4-4-2 formation that sometimes has a bit of a diamond look in the middle of the park. The big question for them will be how much they’ll rotate with another game ahead this weekend.
McMath; Brody, Glad, Vera, Oviedo; Palacio, Loffelsend, Savarino, Luna; Rubin, Arango
Keys To Three Points over RSL
- Finish your chances - One of the troubling signs last weekend against Seattle was the lack of chances taken in the second half by FC Dallas. The connection between players, especially once subs came on, just broke down the attack when the club needed a spark. This week has to be about taking and making the most out of those chances. If Alan Velasco and Paul Arriola are out for this one, FCD has to see guys like Jesus Ferreira and Jader Obrian step up.
- Find the moments - Road games in this league, particularly in the midweek, are all about those little moments. FC Dallas has to pick which moments to commit to in this one and not chase the game from the opening whistle. Also, committing reckless fouls is a no-go too, as we saw in St. Louis a few weeks ago.
- Defend in numbers - RSL is going to push for this one; make no mistake about that, they need the points just like FC Dallas does here. FCD will need to find ways to defend well in numbers and limit Arango’s ability to get in behind the defense in the penalty area. Similarly, they can’t solely focus on him as RSL has plenty of scorers (10 players have scored goals for them in 2023, they’re another goal-by-committee type team).
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