FC Dallas is back home after nearly three weeks away from Toyota Stadium on Saturday night for a marquee matchup against the Los Angeles Galaxy presented by Dr Pepper. The Galaxy are 3-2-5 on the season and Saturday’s match will be the third in eight days for Bruce Arena’s side. They drew 0-0 at Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night
Injury Watch
A slew of injuries leaves the Galaxy pretty short-handed right now with Robbie Keane, Edson Buddle and Jose Villarreal among the attacking players unavailable for Saturday’s match with various muscle injuries. Goalkeeper Brian Perk is out for the year while defender Todd Dunivant is also unavailable on Saturday.
Key Matchups
Fabian Castillo vs Dan Gargan- MLS journeyman Dan Gargan has re-ignited his career with the Galaxy playing 29 games last season, a career high. He’s a very tenacious outside back but speed is not his biggest asset so it will be very interesting to see how he deals with Fabian Castillo on Saturday night.
TICKETS - FC DALLAS vs LA GALAXY - SATURDAY, MAY 9 vs LA GALAXY 7:30PM
Dan Kennedy vs Alan Gordon- Normally, a key matchup wouldn’t be a goalkeeper vs a forward, but Alan Gordon is a big and strong forward who loves to challenge on every cross and set piece. How Dan Kennedy deals with his presence coming out on those set pieces to clear the danger will be key to this match.
Key Player for Kansas City
Gyasi Zardes – With Landon Donovan retired and Robbie Keane out, Gyasi Zardes is relied on for a lot of the offensive attack on Los Angeles. So far in 2015, he hasn’t been able to match his offensive output of 16 goals last year with only one goal in nine games this season, but he’s primed for a breakout match and the Dallas defense will want to ensure it doesn’t happen against them.
Projected Lineup
Goalkeeper: Jaime Penedo; Defenders: Dan Gargan, Leonardo, Omar Gonzalez, AJ DeLaGarza; Midfielders: Juninho, Mika Vayrynen, Baggio Husidic, Stefan Ishizaki; Forwards: Alan Gordon, Gyasi Zardes
Keys to three points
LA is a team that has struggled to score goals this year with only six in their last eight games, so there is a real opportunity for Dallas if they can be solid defensively given the fact that omnipresent forward Robbie Keane is out.
If Dallas can feed their red-hot duo of Fabian Castillo and Mauro Diaz while making smart runs off the ball, they should be able to defend their home turf effectively against the 2014 MLS Cup Champions.
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