FC Dallas vs. Montreal Impact | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

FC Dallas vs. Montreal Impact
2018 MLS Regular Season – Week 15
Toyota Stadium - Frisco
June 9 – 8 pm ET
WATCH: TVAS, ESPN+

FC Dallas are still not losing, they’ve just replaced a host of early-season draws with wins as they’ve fired off three consecutive victories with LAFC being their latest victim. Wins haven’t been easy to come by for the Montreal Impact, who snapped a four-match losing streak with their first victory second win in the last three months.

FC Dallas have won four of their six all-time meetings with the Impact in league play (1L-1D). They’ve outscored Montreal 7-3 in their previous three home matches.

FC Dallas

After back-to-back road victories over Toronto FC and the LA Galaxy, FC Dallas (7-1-5) returned to Frisco and knocked off LAFC, 2-1, to remain unbeaten in eight matches (4-0-4) at Toyota Stadium this season.

Reto Ziegler scored in the 27th minute and Roland Lamah made it 2-0 in the 51st minute with his 17th career goal — 16 of which have been scored at home as FC Dallas moved to within two point of Western Conference leading Sporting Kansas City with a game in hand.

On Wednesday, FC Dallas held off a feisty San Antonio FC squad, 1-0, on a goal by Tesho Akindele just after halftime in the Fourth Round of the U.S. Open Cup.

“Happy with the result, of course, advancing in the Cup with some variations and opportunities to some other players who haven’t been playing lately,” Oscar Pareja said. “It’s a good rival, too, they just gave us a lot of trouble, especially in the first half where they created some chances that were very dangerous.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Kris Reaves (sports hernia surgery), D - Anton Nedyalkov (broken collarbone)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Jesse Gonzalez — Reggie Cannon, Matt Hedges, Reto Ziegler, Ryan Hollingshead — Kellyn Acosta, Carlos Gruezo, Mauro Diaz — Roland Lamah, Maxi Urruti, Santiago Mosquera

Notes: Jesse Gonzalez has saved 81.3% of the shots he has faced from inside his box. Only three other players have a save percentage of at least 70% on such shots, none more than 76.5%. … Dallas have gone unbeaten in their last 14 home games (6W-8D). Their longest unbeaten streak at home since 19 games, from August 29, 2015–September 3, 2016 (15W-4D).

Montreal Impact

After failing to score in four consecutive losses, the Montreal Impact (4-10-0) didn’t exactly break out offensively, but they got the goal they needed as Jeisson Vargas curled his attempt from the edge of the box inside the post just before halftime as the Impact defeated the Houston Dynamo, 1-0, failing to concede for just the third time this season.

"I saw a complete investment from my players tonight," Montreal coach Remi Garde said. “It's a great win and I'm happy for my players, who took a lot of effort in this game. We were in a difficult time. I would not say we're gone, but in terms of trust, this is a very important step we took tonight.”

Keeping another clean sheet Saturday will be difficult with central defender Jukka Raitala joining Finland for a friendly against Belarus. Rudy Camacho is the likely replacement.

"The key will be staying on the continuity of Saturday's game,” Camacho said. “A match won is good, but it is not an end. We will have to stay strong, solid, and keep the basics of the last match to get a result.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Samuel Piette
International duty: D - Jukka Raitala
Injury Report: OUT: D - Zakaria Diallo (ruptured Achilles tendon), D - Kyle Fisher (tibia injury), D - Victor Cabrera (calf injury), M - David Choinere (ankle surgery), M - Louis Beland-Goyette (foot injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Evan Bush — Chris Duvall, Rod Fanni, Rudy Camacho, Daniel Lovitz — Samuel Piette, Saphir Taider — Raheem Edwards, Jeisson Vargas, Ignacio Piatti — Anthony Jackson-Hamel

Notes: Saphir Taider has completed 83.1% of his passes into the final third, the third-highest completion percentage of any player with 100 such pass attempts. … Since a 5-3 victory in Toronto last September, Montreal have scored just seven road goals, going 1W-10L in those matches. They have been held scoreless in three of their last five MLS away games.

All-Time Series

Overall: FC Dallas 4 wins, 10 goals … Montreal Impact 1 win, 6 goals … 1 draw
At Dallas: FC Dallas 3 wins, 7 goals … Impact 0 wins, 3 goals … 0 draws
Last meeting at Dallas: FC Dallas 2, Montreal Impact 0 (March 19, 2016)