FRISCO - FC Dallas returns home from a two-game road swing for their first meeting of the year against the LA Galaxy Saturday afternoon at Toyota Stadium. Dallas (3-1-4, 13 pts.) earned a come-from-behind draw last week against the other team from LA in Southern California, while the Galaxy (3-5-1) suffered their third straight defeat on the year, 3-2 on the road in Houston.
Opposing Strengths
In 2018, FC Dallas has established themselves as the best defensive team in MLS with just seven goals allowed in eight matches - the only team still in single digits in that department. The offense is still trying to find its rhythm on a consistent basis, but has 11 tallies on the other end of the field. The Galaxy, on paper, have only one more goal on the season, but have made headlines with the addition and impact of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in recent weeks, leading LA with three goals and three assists in six games. Behind the ball, however, the Galaxy have given up 16 goals and have struggled to gain momentum, allowing eight goals over their last three games.
Key Match-Ups
Santiago Mosquera vs. Michael Ciani - The 34-year-old veteran will have his hands full with a red-hot Santiago Mosquera, fresh off a goal and an assist in his last two matches. The winger moved up to a striker role in last week’s 4-4-2 and challenged the right side of LAFC’s back line for the full 90 minutes.
Reto Ziegler vs. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Having squared off against Zlatan during their time in Italy’s Serie A, Reto Ziegler will have to keep the Swede who can score from seemingly anywhere at bay as FC Dallas looks to keep their defensive shape. LA has still yet to find a cohesive look with their plethora of attackers, but at 6-foot-7, Ibrahimovic is the go-to guy up front.
Projected XI
(4-2-3-1): David Bingham; Ashley Cole, Jorgen Skjelvik, Michael Ciani, Dave Romney; Sebastian Lletget, Perry Kitchen; Ola Kamara, Giovani dos Santos, Romain Alessandrini; Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Keys to Three Points
Dallas will return home with a bit of momentum after a point on the road last week, while hoping to pick things up where they left off after a 2-0 win over Philadelphia their last time out at Toyota Stadium. It’ll come down to the defense to thwart a dangerous Galaxy attack, one not as put together as their previous matches against New York City FC and LAFC, but boasting dangerous individual pieces that have shown a knack for finding the net on the slightest of chances. If the back line can hold steady and FCD can strike one again on a counter the other way, they can send the Galaxy home 0-for-2 on their Texas swing.
