FRISCO – FC Dallas is coming off a 1-0 win on the road against Toronto FC. FC Dallas (5-1-5, 20 points) will have a quick turnaround and go to LA to play the Galaxy (5-6-1, 16 points) on Wednesday. It will be second time in three weeks these two teams meet, with FC Dallas winning the first match 3-2 at home. The Galaxy have won both their matches since playing FCD, beating both Montreal and San Jose 1-0.
Opposing Strengths
The Galaxy has had two consecutive clean sheets, but their strength still remains up front. Zlatan will return to the lineup after being suspended last weekend and he will not be going up against the same defense he did just a couple of weeks ago. Matt Hedges is suspended for yellow card accumulation and Anton Nedyalkov is out 6-8 with a collar bone injury. FC Dallas is second in the league in goals against per game, but this week may be its biggest challenge yet.
Key Match-Ups
Reto Ziegler vs. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Without Matt Hedges, Reto Ziegler will need to have a big match. He is not the biggest center back, standing at 6’0, but he will be a big part of trying to shut down Zlatan and the LA attack.
Santiago Mosquera vs. Emrah Klimenta – Mosquera has played very well for FC Dallas the past couple of games. He has been able to use his skill and speed to create a lot of chances for FC Dallas and has assists in three of the last four games. He will go up against Emrah Klimenta who has two MLS starts to his name, both coming in the last 10 days. Mosquera should be able to do some damage on his side.
Projected XI
(4-2-3-1) David Bingham; Emrah Klimenta, Michael Ciani, Jorgen Skjelvik, Dave Romney; Perry Kitchen, Sebastian Lletget; Romain Alessandrini, Jonathan dos Santos, Ola Kamara; Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Keys to Three Points
Just like the Toronto match, FC Dallas must need solid goalkeeping play. Without Hedges and Nedyalkov, LA should be able to get some chances on frame and Jesse Gonzalez must be up to the challenge in his second start of the season (or Jimmy Maurer must be up to the challenge after being taken out of the starting lineup against Toronto).
