Dallas will head to BMO Stadium on Saturday in search of their first-ever road victory against Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer.
The reigning MLS Cup champions have not conceded in back-to-back league fixtures, playing the Seattle Sounders to a 0-0 draw last weekend, as LA and Dallas are currently on three-game unbeaten runs, with the Toros edging Sporting Kansas City 2-1.
Match preview
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So far, so good for Steve Cherundolo and his LAFC squad, who have not suffered the hangover we traditionally see early on from defending champions.
There were some anxious moments for the Black-and-Gold in their previous home fixture at the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) last Wednesday, but ultimately a three-goal cushion in their opening leg versus LD Alajuelense was huge as LA lost to the Costa Ricans 2-1, but advanced 4-2 on aggregate.
Defensively they have looked much more comfortable in their last two domestic encounters, conceding just one targeted effort versus the New England Revolution in a 4-0 win, then maintaining their composure last Saturday in Seattle despite having tired legs from their CCL encounter days earlier.
That draw ended a run of 115 regular season games for this team without a 0-0 result, the longest streak in MLS history.
LAFC have won their last three regular season home games against Dallas, outscoring them 7-1 over that stretch with two clean sheets.
Since entering the league in 2018, the Black and Gold have only suffered one home defeat to a Texas-based side in this competition, losing 2-1 to Austin FC in May 2022.
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Nico Estevez has the Toros off to another solid start in this MLS campaign, thanks to their good discipline and fluid positional style of play.
Dallas have often been down but never out so far this season, coming from behind to beat SKC last weekend, having now claimed six points from losing positions in 2023.
That is the second-most among MLS sides this year behind St Louis City SC (nine) as the Toros find themselves in a four-way tie for second place in the Western Conference, alongside LAFC, Seattle and Minnesota United, who beat them in their opening match (1-0).
They enter this weekend without a road victory in their last four MLS fixtures, which included a 2-1 playoff defeat to Austin FC last October.
Although Dallas have conceded the opening goal in three of their four league contests, they have not given up a second-half strike on their current unbeaten run.
In the past four regular season campaigns, the Toros have only picked up one away victory against MLS teams from California, scoring three times in the opening half-hour to defeat the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 in May 2022.
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Team News
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LA will be without four players this weekend due to the international window, including Diego Palacios and Jose Cifuentes, who are on duty with Ecuador, Denil Maldonado was called up to the Honduran national team and leading goalscorer Denis Bouanga is representing Gabon.
John McCarthy has a clean sheet in back-to-back MLS matches, while Carlos Vela notched his second goal in all competitions when they were beaten by Alajuelense last week.
Vela was involved in two of the three goals scored by LAFC in this exact fixture last year, which they won 3-1, with former players Cristian Arango and Danny Musovski both finding the back of the net on that occasion, as well as current striker Kwadwo Opoku.
Tarik Scott remains the only player missing due to injury for Dallas as he is recovering from LCL surgery, while Nolan Norris is with the American Under-19 squad and Antonio Carrera was named to the US Under-20 team.
Last weekend, Jesus Ferreira notched his third of the season, moving him seven goals shy of the all-time goalscoring record for the Toros set by Kenny Cooper (46), while Alan Velasco put home his second of the campaign and Maarten Paes kept them in their game with SKC, stopping an Erik Thommy penalty in the second half, his third save from the spot since joining them in 2022.
Ferreira was the only Dallas player to score against the Black and Gold last season, while former right-back Ryan Hollingshead notched two goals against LA as a member of the Toros years ago.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
McCarthy, Hollingshead, Long, Chiellini, Murillo; Acosta, Sanchez, Tillman; Torres, Vela, Opoku
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Twumasi, Tafari, Martinez, Farfan; Lletget, Cerrillo, Pomykal; Arriola, Ferreira, Velasco
We say: Los Angeles FC 2-1 Dallas
The Black and Gold will be without some key attacking weapons, but fortunately, there is plenty of depth for them to count upon up top, plus we believe their ability to push the pace down the wings will make life difficult for the Toros.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
