FC Dallas vs. Minnesota United FC | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

FC Dallas vs. Minnesota United FC
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 25
Toyota Stadium — Frisco
August 18 - 8 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

FC Dallas is looking to snap their first losing streak of the season and avoid a second consecutive defeat at Toyota Stadium against a Minnesota United FC side that is attempting to climb above the playoff line in the Western Conference.

FC Dallas is coming off a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders Sunday, while the Loons rallied to draw the LA Galaxy 2-2 in Carson the night prior for their first road point in more than five months.

This is the second meeting this season, with FC Dallas winning 1-0 at TCF Bank Stadium on a 59th minute goal by Roland Lamah.

FC Dallas

FC Dallas (12-5-6) is still sitting atop the Western Conference, but their lead was sliced to just three points following a 2-1 loss to Seattle at CenturyLink Field.

After falling behind on a goal by Chad Marshall a few minutes before halftime, Dominique Badji leveled on the other side of the break for his first goal since arriving from the Colorado Rapids late last month. But Nico Lodeiro struck for the winner 11 minutes later. To compound things, FC Dallas finished the match with 10 men after Reto Ziegler was sent off for violent conduct in stoppage time.

“I’m very proud of our players, very proud in such a difficult environment today,” Oscar Pareja said. “I thought we played very well and we played against a good side in Seattle, as everybody knows they have so far a good run. Today with the amount of corner kicks we gave up, it was difficult to control the set plays. … Soccer-wise I thought we played a very good game and I’m very proud of our players.”

Suspended: D - Reto Ziegler
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: F - Santiago Mosquera (left hamstring strain)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Jesse Gonzalez — Reggie Cannon, Matt Hedges, Maynor Figueroa, Marquinhos Pedroso — Carlos Gruezo, Victor Ulloa — Michael Barrios, Maxi Urruti, Roland Lamah — Dominique Badji

Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United FC (9-13-2) rallied from a pair of deficits to earn a 2-2 draw with the LA Galaxy at StubHub Center Saturday night.

After falling behind in the opening 10 minutes, Michael Boxall leveled in the 64th minute, but Sebastian Lletget responded nine minutes later to put the Galaxy back in front. The score remained that way until Romario Ibarra scored his first MLS goal six minutes from full time for an important road point.

“I am so pleased for the players tonight,” Adrian Heath said. “One of the things we spoke about was when we have moments in the game you have to score and tonight we did. For a lot of our good play on the road, sometimes we have not got what we deserved. Tonight we did. Overall it does give us something to build on for another difficult away game next week.”

Suspended: D - Francisco Calvo, M - Collen Warner
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: M - Sam Cronin (cervicogenic dysfunction), M - Kevin Molino (torn left ACL), M - Ethan Finlay (torn ACL), M - Maximiano (right knee injury); QUESTIONABLE: D - Jerome Thiesson (right leg injury)

Projected Starting XI
(3-1-4-2, right to left)
GK: Bobby Shuttleworth — Wyatt Omsberg, Michael Boxall, Brent Kallman — Rasmus Schuller — Miguel Ibarra, Ibson, Collin Martin, Eric Miller — Darwin Quintero, Angelo Rodriguez

All-Time Series

Overall: FC Dallas 2 wins, 4 goals … Minnesota United FC 1 win, 4 goals … 0 draws
At Dallas: FC Dallas 1 win, 2 goals … Minnesota United FC 0 wins, 0 goals … 0 draws
Last meeting at Dallas: FC Dallas 2, Minnesota United FC 0 (April 8, 2017)