FC Dallas has a chance to tie a franchise record on Sunday against the Chicago Fire as they go for a sixth-straight win. The winners of five-straight, Dallas comes into the weekend atop the Supporters’ Shield standings with 38 points and a record of 11-5-5. Chicago, on the other hand, brings in a record of 5-11-4 and is currently last in MLS with 19 points.
Schedule Swings
Chicago will open a jam-packed month on Sunday, playing their first of seven scheduled games in August. The Fire will play three games in 10 days starting this weekend, including a U.S. Open Cup match which could see an eighth game added. Dallas will be able to find its rhythm down the home stretch of the season, beginning one-game-a-week schedule with alternating home and road weeks for the majority of the final three months. FCD also hits their week off next weekend, not playing until Aug. 15 after Sunday.
Key Player for Portland
David Accam – The first-year MLS player has been a bright spot in a not-so-bright season for the Fire in 2015. Accam has five goals in twelve appearances this season, and accounts for almost a quarter of Chicago’s scoring thus far. On a roster that’s missing Jeff Larentowicz and his four goals on the year, Mike Magee despite an injury-plagued season and newly acquired DP Gilberto who isn’t expected to join the team until next week, Accam is vital.
Key Matchups
Fabian Castillo vs. Eric Gehrig – The MLS All-Star returns to Dallas ready to continue his career season against Chicago. Last week’s match against Portland broke a five-game streak in which Castillo was involved on at least one goal. Oscar Pareja appears to be following the ‘ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ attitude in recent weeks meaning Castillo will continue to be a main attraction of the FCD attack.
Dan Kennedy vs. Sean Johnson – The goalkeeping matchup is always more than just the keepers, but the defensive effort overall. For Kennedy and FC Dallas, they’ve only allowed two goals in five straight wins – dropping Kennedy’s goals against average to 1.07, while the offense is scoring an average of 1.52 goals per game. For Johnson and the Fire, they’re not allowing a ton of goals, with a GAA of 1.31, but they don’t have the same scoring support on the opposite end of the field – averaging 1.1 goals per contest on the season. Every goal will mean that much more come Sunday.
Projected Lineup
Goalkeeper: Sean Johnson; Defenders: Joevin Jones, Adailton, Eric Gherig, Matt Polster; Midfielders: Harry Shipp, Razvan Cocis, Matt Watson, David Accam; Forwards: Shaun Maloney, Kennedy Igboananike
Keys to three points
While Chicago isn’t having the best season to date, FC Dallas hasn’t had the best luck against struggling opponents this year– with a loss and two draws to Colorado, who sit in last place in the Western Conference, and a loss to then-last place Montreal back in May. FCD will have to stick to what’s been working and ride the momentum of their five-game streak into Illinois to extinguish the Fire.
