FRISCO, Texas — FC Dallas will look to take all three points tonight against Western Conference foe, the Portland Timbers. In FCD's midweek match against Vancouver, the Starting XI was identical to the one that came out against Toronto FC on June 22. That consistency is still intact for today's match, which could see FC Dallas accompany the Seattle Sounders for the third-place spot in the conference standings.
Let's dive into tonight's Lineup Notes, presented by UnitedHealthCare.
ACOSTA RETURNS
Following his four-week departure to represent Honduras in the Concacaf Gold Cup, FC Dallas midfielder Bryan Acosta returns to the bench for tonight's match against Portland. FCD gets yet another midfield reinforcement this week, which will help FCD Head Coach Luchi Gonzalez with rotations, and it helps inject more depth, experience and leadership to the squad. Acosta was a key piece in FCD's midfield before his leave of absence, and he'll be in contention, along with Jacori Hayes, with the rest of the homegrowns for a starting spot in Thursday's clash with DC United.
HOMEGROWN MIDFIELD
Yet again, the FC Dallas midfield will be comprised of homegrown talent. This part of the pitch was very successful against both Toronto FC and Vancouver in the past two matches. Before Paxton Pomykal was taken off in the second half of the match against Vancouver, the midfield was dominant in both creativity and defense. Pomykal worked well as the No. 10 in the formation, running rampant in the top half of the field, and Edwin Cerrillo and Brandon Servania did well to back him up defensively when needed. The trio will look to have an excellent performance once again this weekend against a relatively tough Portland midfield.
BADJI-FERREIRA-BARRIOS ATTACK STARTS AGAIN
In the past few weeks, the FC Dallas attack of Dominique Badji, Jesus Ferreira and Michael Barrios has been gaining more and more confidence as each game passes. Before the Whitecaps came back against FC Dallas on Wednesday, the attack flourished from the midfield to the top of the formation. Pomykal was a big factor in the attack's success, but lately, the Badji-Ferreira-Barrios trio has been creating quality chances for each other. Ferreira has been looking more comfortable up top (he snapped his seven-game scoreless streak against Vancouver), Badji netted his first FC Dallas brace against Toronto, and Barrios has been playing some of his best soccer of 2019. Luchi's confidence in the three attackers has shown in the past few matches, electing to stick with them instead of rotating other players into the lineup. It paid off for most of Wednesday's match, and only time will tell if it will pay off tonight against a Portland defense that has given up 28 goals this season — tied for third-most in the Western Conference.
