Now that FC Dallas has secured a spot in this year’s playoffs, the final two games of the regular season will all be about getting the best seed available. The first step in that process will begin on Saturday afternoon as FC Dallas travels to the Mile High City to battle the Colorado Rapids.
This match will also mark the first time that FCD manager Oscar Pareja has returned to Colorado since leaving his coaching post with the Rapids.
FC Dallas has already battled the Rapids twice this season, both times in Frisco. The Hoops won both matches by 3-2 and 3-1 scorelines.
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The Rapids come into this match on a 12-game winless streak, with their last win coming back in July against Chivas USA. Oddly enough, Chivas USA managed to get revenge with their 2-1 win over the Rapids last weekend.
Injury Watch
Pablo Mastroeni’s club has been dealing with injuries throughout the year. Drew Moor and Brian Mullan have both been out with long-term knee injuries for a while now.
Defender Thomas Piermayr was just recently sidelined with a season-ending MCL sprain.
The only question marks that the Rapids have going into this weekend revolve around forward Edson Buddle (Achilles tendon) and defender Chris Klute (calf).
Key Matchups
Marvell Wynne vs Fabian Castillo - Castillo has always enjoyed playing the Rapids over the years. Right now the Rapids have a bit of an issue in their defense and Wynne will likely have to start at right back again now that Thomas Piermayr is out. This will be a speed vs speed matchup that should go Castillo’s way given his current form.
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Jose Mari vs Victor Ulloa - The battle in this one will be won or lost in the midfield. Mari is a guy that can score from distance and it will be on Ulloa to shut him down in the middle third of the field. If Ulloa can limit what Mari does on the ball and away from the ball, it will go a long way in helping decide this game.
Key Player for Colorado
Dillon Powers - The Plano native is really one of the few consistent players for the Rapids this season. He leads the team with nine assists on the year and has added in five goals of his own. If he has a quiet day in the attack, so will the Rapids.
Projected Lineup
Mastroeni has been experimenting with his lineups and formations for the last couple of months. Lately he has gone back to a 4-4-2 formation due to some injuries his club has been dealing with.
Goalkeeper: Clint Irwin; RB: Marvell Wynne; CB: Zat Knight, Jared Watts; LB: Marc Burch, RM: Carlos Alvarez ; CM: Nick LaBrocca, Jose Mari; LM: John Neeskens; FW: Dillon Powers, Charles Eloundou
Keys to three points
There is little doubt that the Rapids and their fans will get up for this game. The two previous meetings this season have been physical, but with the Rapids having little to play for (other than pride) and with Pareja returning for the first time, this one will have a lot of emotions going through it.
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FCD will want to remain sound in the back by not allowing a lot of space for Powers and someone like Deshorn Brown to work in space.
In the midfield, it will be all about creating space for Castillo and Andres Escobar to run on the wings. Colorado doesn’t have the speed to match FCD on the outside and where Pareja’s team has been successful this season has been from the wings with the speed.
FCD knows how important this game is to playoff positioning. A win and they inch closer to avoiding the dreaded wild card game.
