HOUSTON - Leg Two of the 2017 Texas Derby kicks off under the Friday night lights in Houston tonight as FC Dallas makes their only regular season trip to BBVA Compass Stadium to face the Dynamo.
First MLS Start for Mauro
After playing 138 minutes over three matches last week, including a full 90 minutes in Open Cup action, Mauro Diaz will make his first MLS start since October 16, 2016. He made his return to action a month ago in the first leg of the Texas Derby with nine minutes of action and has appeared in the team’s three matches since, all coming off the bench.
The Magician is FCD’s active leading scorer against Houston with three goals and six assists in eight career matches.
Back to 4-2-3-1
With the return of Mauro, Oscar Pareja and Co. will return to the trusty 4-2-3-1. After using the formation extensively for the last three seasons, Dallas has used a 4-4-2 lineup eight times in MLS play with Diaz out and in each of the last three league matches. This is the sixth time this season FCD has lined up in a 4-2-3-1 to start a league game.
Lamah Out
Roland Lamah will miss his first match of the season after suffering a leg injury late in last week’s meeting against Vancouver. The winger worked all week to get healthy, but fell just short of being cleared in the short week. Lamah had appeared in all 15 of Dallas’ league games to date this season with 14 starts. Tesho Akindele will get his fifth league start of the season on the wing, his tenth overall, after appearing in his 100th MLS match last week.
