Dallas will welcome the Eastern Conference-leading New England Revolution to Toyota Stadium on Sunday, as the two sides do battle in Texas for the first time since 2019.
The Toros are desperate for a victory, going winless in their last eight fixtures, while New England will look to extend their winning streak to six games.
Match preview
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As they open their two-game homestand against one of the top MLS teams, Luchi Gonzalez will hope that the worst is over for his side, who are bottom of the Western Conference standings with seven points from nine games.
This team have struggled mightily in 2021, finding themselves behind more often than not in the early stages of a match.
They have conceded the opening goal in their six previous encounters and given up 10 goals in that stretch, six of which came in the opening half.
Not only have they dug themselves many deficits, but they have rarely been able to solve opposing defences as well, going goalless in two of their last three fixtures, registering only one shot on target in their previous outing versus LAFC.
The hope is that some home cooking at Toyota Stadium can instil some confidence back into this side, who have yet to lose in their five fixtures on home soil.
There is a lot of buzz around Greater Boston these days, and for good reason, as Bruce Arena and the New England Revolution have given their supporters reason to believe that this could be the year they finally capture that elusive MLS Cup.
The Revs are on a roll, winning five straight contests, and going unbeaten in their last six matches, currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference with 23 points and just one point back of the Seattle Sounders in the race for the Supporters' Shield.
In their last two fixtures, the Revs have had to dig deep to come away with three points, squandering two leads against New York City FC before scoring the winner in the 88th minute and then hanging on to a 3-2 win on Wednesday against the New York Red Bulls after going up 3-0 in the opening 51 minutes.
Another win on Sunday would match the longest winning run for the Revs since 2015, when they won six straight contests and went unbeaten in eight successive matches.
On paper, their game on Sunday appears to be a mismatch, although the Revs have not had much success at Toyota Stadium in recent memory, going winless in their last nine visits there, including a 4-2 defeat to the Toros in the 2016 US Open Cup Final.
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Team News
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Dallas will be without central midfielder Thomas Roberts, who is still nursing a leg injury, while goalkeeper Kyle Zobeck continues to struggle with a hamstring issue.
Homegrown player Justin Che made his first career start for the Toros on Wednesday, becoming the fourth-youngest starter in club history at 17 years and 217 days old.
Midfielder Jesus Ferreira earned his first start of the season after recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in the preseason, while striker Szabolcs Schon could be back for their match on Sunday after Hungary were eliminated from the Euro.
Revs midfielder Carles Gil returns to the scene where he scored his first-ever goal for New England in a 1-1 draw versus Dallas in March 2019.
The Spanish midfielder has been outstanding in 2021, leading the league in assists (10) and key passes (49), assisting on all three of the Revs goals on Wednesday and being named the MLS Player of the Week.
Striker Gustavo Bou and midfielder Tommy McNamara have goals in each of their last two games, and Bou is now tied with his teammate Adam Buksa for the team lead in that department.
Midfielder Luis Caicedo is the only injury concern for Bruce Arena, with the defensive specialist still recovering from a leg injury.
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Maurer; Martinez, Bressan, Nelson, Hollingshead; Acosta, Vargas, Che; Ferreira; Obrian, Jara
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Turner; Jones, Bell, Farrell, Bye; Traustason, Polster, McNamara; Gil; Bou, Bunbury
We say: Dallas 1-3 New England Revolution
The Revs have the best player in the league in Carles Gil, who has turned an already deep team into a powerhouse squad that looks primed to dominate the Eastern Conference.
Dallas are in a major slump, having not won since their opening game in May, and they cannot seem to find a way through opposing defences no matter who they face.
Top tip
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 Dallas win with a probability of 45.07%. A win for New England Revolution had a probability of 30.39% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dallas win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.06%) and 2-0 (7.25%). The likeliest New England Revolution win was 1-2 (7.32%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.51%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Dallas in this match.
