Los Angeles Football Club vs. FC Dallas | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

LAFC vs. FC Dallas
2018 MLS Regular Season – Week 10
Banc of California Stadium – Los Angeles
May 5 – 4 pm ET
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After christening the sparkling Banc of California Stadium with a 1-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC, LAFC are seeking a fourth straight victory — and second in a row at home — when they face an FC Dallas squad coming off their first defeat of 2018, losing to New York City, 3-1.

LAFC have scored 17 goals (tied for the fourth most in MLS) with an expected goals total of 15.1 this season (the seventh-highest total). FC Dallas, meanwhile, have conceded six goals (fewest in the league) and carry an expected goals-against total of 8.1 (second lowest), per Opta.

LAFC

Oh, what a night.

After securing four wins in six games on the road, LAFC (5-2-0) finally played their first home game in franchise history, and Banc of California Stadium was rocking on Sunday, as the hosts beat the Seattle Sounders by a 1-0 scoreline for the second time this season.

Laurent Ciman was a hero on both sides of the ball, helping securing the clean sheet and beating Stefan Frei with a long-distance free kick deep into second-half stoppage time. He was named to the MLS Team of the Week presented by Audi for Week 9.

“What a stadium and what a crowd,” LAFC coach Bob Bradley said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a lot of amazing places around the world, but the feeling inside that stadium today was incredible.”

Late Tuesday, LAFC acquired Lee Nguyen from the New England Revolution for at least $350,000 in Targeted Allocation Money and $350,000 in General Allocation Money.

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: GK - Luis Lopez (right tibial stress fracture), F - Marco Urena (facial surgery), D - Joao Mountino (left ankle sprain)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Tyler Miller — Steven Beitashour, Walker Zimmerman, Laurent Ciman, Jordan Harvey — Marc-Anthony Kaye, Benny Feilhaber — Omar Gaber, Carlos Vela, Latif Blessing — Diego Rossi

Notes: Ciman is now one of six MLS players with multiple goals scored on direct free kicks. He and Kevin Kratz of Atlanta United are the only players this season with multiple such goals. … After earning a 1-0 win in their first-ever MLS home game, LAFC are now on a three-game winning streak in which they’ve outscored opponents 8-3.

FC Dallas

It was bound to come to an end, and it did Sunday night at Yankee Stadium as FCD (3-1-3) dropped their first game of 2018, losing to NYCFC, 3-1.

Oscar Pareja made two changes to his 4-4-2 formation from the side that defeated the Philadelphia Union, 2-0, the previous week, with Maxi Urruti partnering with Cristian Colman up top and Roland Lamah replacing Michael Barrios on the wing.

Dallas conceded the game's opening goal early, but responded nearly immediately to level in the 10th minute on Santiago Mosquera’s first MLS goal. But David Villa struck for a brace, including a penalty kick awarded following Video Review, to pull away.

“Goals are goals,” Pareja said. “We had been defending well. I think the first goal that early with a ball that was very controlled was something that hurt us. But we bounced back quick and with a lot of character.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: M - Paxton Pomykal (right meniscus surgery); QUESTIONABLE: D - Maynor Figueroa (right knee strain), GK - Jesse Gonzalez (finger strain)

Projected Starting XI
(4-4-2, right to left)
GK: Jimmy Maurer — Reggie Cannon, Matt Hedges, Reto Ziegler, Anton Nedyalkov — Santiago Mosquera, Jacori Hayes, Victor Ulloa, Roland Lamah — Cristian Colman, Maxi Urruti

Notes: In his last two appearances, Mosquera has tallied 11 shots (six on target), one goals and three chances created. He had four shots (one on target), zero goals and two chances created in his first five games with FC Dallas. … FC Dallas saw their seven-game unbeaten run to start the season snapped in New York last weekend. They have not lost consecutive league games since July 29-August 5, 2017 (20 games since).