With both sides aiming to narrow the gap up to the playoff places in the Major League Soccer Western Conference standings, FC Dallas will welcome St Louis City to the Toyota Stadium on Sunday.
The two teams are both winless in their last five league outings, with the hosts currently sat 13th and their visitors four points better off and three outside the top nine in 11th place.
Match preview
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Dallas return to the Toyota Stadium on Sunday under new management in search of just a fourth win of what has been a difficult Major League Soccer campaign thus far, having already fallen well behind the playoff places in the Western Conference after third and seventh-placed finishes across the previous two terms.
Aiming to reach the MLS Cup playoffs for the third straight season, the Toros currently sit 13th in their division, having only amassed 14 points from their first 16 outings, just three more than basement side San Jose Earthquakes and seven fewer than Portland Timbers in the final playoff wildcard spot.
The most recent of their three league victories thus far came at home to Texas rivals Austin FC in mid-May, and after following that up with a draw against Houston Dynamo and a US Open Cup round-of-16 triumph over Tampa Bay Rowdies, they have added just two more points to their tally in four further attempts.
After being pegged back from a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Real Salt Lake, the Toro went on to suffer back-to-back defeats at the hands of Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles FC, before most recently visiting Minnesota United last week and leaving with a share of the spoils from a 1-1 draw thanks to Liam Fraser's early leveller.
That result was not enough to save the job of Nico Estevez, who departed after two and a half years at the helm, and now under the temporary stewardship of Peter Luccin, FC Dallas will be desperate to correct their form and move closer to the playoff spots in their Conference in the coming weeks.
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In their way stand a visiting side who will also bid to move closer to the Conference's top nine, having dropped behind the playoff spots as a result of a tougher run of form in recent weeks.
After topping the Western Conference and departing the playoffs in the first round in their maiden MLS campaign last time around, St Louis City made a relatively pleasing start to the new term, earning 16 points from their first 11 outings courtesy of three victories alongside a single defeat, but they have failed to add another notch to their wins column in five attempts since, adding just two more points to their tally along the way.
Their second, third and fourth league losses of the season came consecutively in May, as Bradley Carnell's side fell short at the hands of Los Angeles FC, FC Cincinnati and Seattle Sounders, before most recently playing out back-to-back draws heading into the weekend, having led away at Inter Miami on three separate occasions through Chris Durkin, Indiana Vassilev and a Luis Suarez own goal, only to be pegged back each time with the final leveller coming in the 85th minute.
After being forced to share the spoils in disappointing fashion in that outing, the Missouri outfit most recently welcomed Portland Timbers to CITYPARK last time out and came away with a point for the ninth time this season, as the contest ended in a goalless stalemate.
While their dip in form has triggered a quick drop down to 11th spot, St Louis City do remain just four points outside of the top seven in the MLS Western Conference and three behind the wildcard places, and they will bid to bounce back and narrow that gap with a return to winning ways on their travels on Sunday.
Team News
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Dallas are set to remain without Carl Fred Sainte and Nolan Norris, who have been away on international duty with Haiti and USA Under-19s respectively, while Geovane, Paxton Pomykal and Alan Velasco remain sidelined by injuries.
Their line will again be led by Petar Musa, who has notched up five goals and two assists in 15 MLS games since his off-season arrival from Benfica, while Patrickson Delgado and Jesus Ferreira should again offer support.
Elsewhere, former Real Madrid and Real Sociedad midfielder Asier Illarramendi remains a key man in the engine room and will likely be partnered by Liam Fraser, while Sebastien Ibeagha, Omar Gonzalez and Sam Junqua should line up in an unaltered back three from their draw with Minnesota United last time out.
St Louis City remain without defender Kyle Hiebert, who is away on international duty for Canada, while defender Tomas Totland and winger Celio Pompeu will serve suspensions on Sunday for accumulations of yellow cards.
Samuel Adeniran will likely come into the attack from the outset in Pompeu's absence, joining Hosei Kijima and Indiana Vassilev in support of striker Joao Klauss, who leads their scoring charts with five MLS goals so far this term.
Elsewhere, Chris Durkin and Eduard Lowen will continue their partnership in the engine room, while centre-back Joakim Nilsson could drop out for Joshua Yaro after being withdrawn at the beginning of the second half in their goalless draw with Portland Timbers last time out.
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Ibeagha, Gonzalez, Junqua; Arriola, Fraser, Illarramendi, Farfan; Ferreira, Musa, Delgado
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Nerwinski, Parker, Yaro, Markanich; Durkin, Lowen; Vassilev, Kijima, Adeniran; Klauss
We say: Dallas 1-1 St Louis City
In the midst of winless streaks, both teams will fight hard for a victory in Sunday's meeting, and we anticipate a tight contest with the hosts particularly keen to bounce back under new management.
We put the two sides on a fairly level playing field and see a low-scoring draw as the most likely outcome in Texas.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
