Following two consecutive defeats, New York City FC will look to bounce back and strengthen their position in the Major League Soccer table on Tuesday, when they play host to Dallas.
The Pigeons suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of New England Revolution on Sunday, while their opponents played out a 1-1 draw with San Jose Earthquakes.
Match preview
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New York City got off to a noticeably strong start in the new MLS campaign, collecting 26 points from their first 16 outings to establish themselves at the top end of the Eastern Conference.
However, the form of Ronny Deila's men has taken a dip recently, beginning with disappointing draws against Chicago Fire and Toronto.
While they did bounce back with a victory over Inter Miami, and recently defeated Conference leaders New England Revolution 2-0, thanks to a Valentin Castellanos brace, they have been largely inconsistent, with that win followed by back-to-back defeats heading into Tuesday's game.
The Pigeons were first handed a 3-1 loss away against Nashville, with Castellanos only hitting a consolation goal in the 90th minute, before they again met New England Revolution and fell to a 2-1 defeat, despite Santiago Rodriguez putting them ahead inside the first 15 minutes.
Having now slipped to fourth spot with only a four-point lead over eighth-placed Atlanta United, Deila's men will be desperate to bounce back and return to winning ways, as they look to keep a firm hold of a playoff spot.
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They take on a Dallas side who are instead looking to break into the top seven of their Conference, after they endured a tough start to the season.
With just 11 points from their opening 14 games of the campaign, the Toros found themselves at the bottom end of the Western Conference, but enjoyed an upturn in form to put themselves back in the hunt, as they collected 10 points from the next four matches.
Luis Gonzalez's men were unable to build on that though, as the unbeaten run was put to an end by consecutive defeats at the hands of Sporting Kansas City and Seattle Sounders, although they did soon bounce back with an eye-catching 5-3 away win over Austin, as Jesus Ferreira and Ricardo Pepi netted braces alongside a Jader Obrian goal.
After a narrow 3-2 defeat to Real Salt Lake following that win, Gonzalez's side earned a point last time out, as Pepi cancelled out an early San Jose Earthquakes opener to see the game finish 1-1.
Having failed to find a consistent run of form yet this season, the Toros currently occupy 11th spot in the Western Conference, although the gap between themselves and seventh-placed Real Salt Lake stands at just four points, meaning they could quickly earn a playoff place if they can string a series of results together.
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Team News
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New York City come into the game without midfielder Alfredo Morales, who will serve a suspension after he was sent off in the defeat to New England Revolution last time out.
However, they will be boosted by the return of Maxi Moralez, who served a suspension of his own in that game.
Their line will be led by Valentin Castellanos, who has registered 11 goals and seven assists in 22 MLS appearances this season.
He will be supported by crucial winger Jesus Medina, who also served a suspension last time out after accumulating five league yellow cards.
Dallas will be without John Nelson and Bressan through injury, although they have recently been boosted by the returns of Facundo Quignon and Paxton Pomykal from the treatment room.
Ricardo Pepi will lead the line with confidence, having hit four goals in his last four MLS appearances.
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Tinnerholm, Chanot, Sands, Amundsen; Parks, Acevedo; Medina, Rodriguez, Moralez; Castellanos
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Megiolaro; Che, Hedges, Martinez, Twumasi; Quignon, Servania; Obrian, Ferreira, Pomykal; Pepi
We say: New York City FC 3-1 Dallas
Despite their difficult run of form in the last month, we back New York City to get over the line on home turf on Tuesday.
Boosted by the return of Medina, Deila's men should be a force going forward, and Dallas have often struggled at the back this campaign, potentially seeing the hosts run away with the game as a result.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a New York City FC win with a probability of 71.9%. A draw had a probability of 16.9% and a win for Dallas had a probability of 11.19%.
The most likely scoreline for a New York City FC win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.49%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.67%) and 2-1 (9.48%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.97%), while for a Dallas win it was 0-1 (3.35%). The actual scoreline of 3-3 was predicted with a 0.9% likelihood.
