FC Dallas will hope their home prowess gets them back in the win column when they host road-challenged Atlanta United on Saturday in Frisco, Texas.
Dallas has won three of its past four MLS home matches, each win coming via shutout. The Toros have captured 12 of their past 18 regular-season matches at home.
Dallas (9-10-6, 33 points) heads home after a 2-1 loss to expansion St. Louis. Goalkeeper Maarten Paes was sent off in the 12th minute for the Toros, marking the earliest a keeper has been sent off in an MLS match since 2014. Eugene Ansah logged his first career regular-season goal for FC Dallas in the loss.
“Playing 70 or 80 minutes with 10 players can be difficult, especially against a team with the energy of St. Louis,” FC Dallas coach Nico Estevez said. “The difference was that they took advantage of their chances, and we didn’t. I am really proud of the group for how they fought to get a result on the road.”
FC Dallas will play their third contest in eight days and are 1-3-1 in their past five league matches. Jesus Ferreira (10 goals, two assists) is Dallas’ only player with more than five goals and assists combined, and he’s been out of the lineup the past few games due to illness.
It’s the first time Dallas has played Atlanta at home since July 4, 2018. The all-time series is split at two wins apiece, the most recent meeting being a 1-0 Atlanta victory at home in 2020.
Atlanta (11-8-8, 41 points) travels to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex after a 2-1 loss at home to league-leading FC Cincinnati on Wednesday. Edwin Mosquera volleyed home a pass from Xande Silva early on to score his first professional goal, but Atlanta could not hold on.
“In the second half we lost control of the game,” Atlanta United assistant coach Diego de la Torre said. “We were playing against the first-place team in the League, and they were chasing and competing.”
The Five Stripes’ most recent road match was a 2-0 win at Seattle on Aug. 20 and was just their fourth victory in their last 30 matches away from home. Atlanta hasn’t posted back-to-back road wins since August 2021.
Atlanta head coach Gonzalo Pineda missed the Cincinnati match due to yellow card accumulation. He will return for the FC Dallas match.
—Field Level Media
Original source here
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