FC Dallas faces a quick turnaround from this past weekend as they host a vital midweek game against Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday.
Both teams come stumbling into this game as each lost on the road over the weekend. FCD lost at LA while the New York Red Bulls hammered the Sounders 4-1 in their weekend match.
Seattle is coming off a big US Open Cup Final win last Wednesday over the Philadelphia Union. It was the Sounders’ fourth win in the tournament over the last six years.
TICKETS - FC Dallas vs Seattle Sounders FC - 8:00PM Wednesday, September 24 Toyota Stadium
The Sounders have gotten the better end of the season series with FC Dallas in 2014 too, winning both of the previous meetings. In April, Seattle gave Dallas their first loss of the season, a 3-2 decision that saw Clint Dempsey score two goals. The Sounders followed that win up with a 2-1 score in May at CenturyLink Field.
Seattle has done well against Dallas since joining MLS. In 14 regular season meetings, the Sounders have a 8-2-4 record against Dallas.
Injury Watch
Sigi Schmid’s squad hasn’t had nearly as many injuries this season to deal with as FC Dallas. The Sounders long-term injury is forward Kevin Parsemain, who is out with an ACL tear.
Defender Daimon Lowe and backup keeper Marcus Hahnemann are both questionable going into Wednesday’s match as well.
Key Matchups
Blas Perez vs Chad Marshall - Perez has been on fire lately for FCD, scoring three goals in the last two games. Any success that Dallas has in the air and on set pieces will come through him. Marshall is a gritty veteran in the Sounders’ defense though.
Matt Hedges vs Clint Dempsey - The Dallas captain will have his hands full with the US National Team captain. Between Dempsey and Obafemi Martins, Hedges will have to keep his defensive line in check and make sure not to allow any open space for Dempsey to operate in.
Key Player for Seattle
Clint Dempsey - The Sounders attack really starts and ends with Dempsey. His 12 goals and seven assists only trail Martins in both categories (he has 13 goals and 9 assists). Dempsey does an excellent job of finding space in and around the opposing defense to help facilitate the attack and to create chances of his own.
Projected Lineup
Schmid has lately been using a 4-4-2 type formation with Dempsey sitting just slightly behind Martins in the attack.
Goalkeeper: Stefan Frei; RB: DeAndre Yedlin; CB: Chad Marshall, Djimi Toure LB: Dylan Remick; RM: Brad Evans; CM: Osvaldo Alonso, Gonzalo Pindea; LM: Lemar Neagle; FW: Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins
Keys to three points
Both teams have the quick turnaround to deal with going into this game. Each side rested key players over the weekend as well. So how they both fare with the travel, limited rest and everything else in-between may be the real story to this game.
Seattle has already punched their ticket to the playoffs so for them the motivation could be a bit lacking. This is a spot where FC Dallas has to step up and make the home field advantage count for something.
The attack for Dallas has to find ways to spread out the Sounders on the flanks and use the speed that Fabian Castillo and Andres Escobar have to beat the fullbacks from Seattle. Utilizing the speed on the flanks and finding ways to involve Perez as much as possible will help keep the Sounders honest in the back.
Defensively this game will come down to how well Dallas does in the middle of the field. If they limit the turnovers and close down the open field that Dempsey and Martins can create chances in, they’ll have a good shot at ending up with points out of this one.
