FRISCO - FC Dallas hosts New York City FC for just the second time at Toyota Stadium tonight to close out Week 11 of MLS play. Let’s dive into the lineup for the home side:
One Change
Oscar Pareja will use an almost identical Starting XI from last week’s win over RSL, with Carlos Gruezo returning to his normal starting role after missing his first start of the year a week ago.
Pareja has used eight different starting lineups in nine MLS matches in 2017, the only duplicate XI coming from the April 22 win over SKC and the April 29 draw against Portland. It was the only time this year, across all competitions, that Dallas has kept the same XI from one match to the next. Pareja only did so four times in the 2016 season.
4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1?
At first glance, Dallas appears to be setting up in a 4-4-2 look with Akindele and Urruti up top, but with a NYCFC team that thrives through the midfield and Maximiliano Moralez, look for Maxi Urruti to play a little more underneath Akindele in the middle than alongside him. It’s something FCD has played with in the past and throughout the week, utilizing Urruti’s creative nature in a more attacking mid role. Not quite a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1, you could almost consider this a 4-4-1-1.
As we’ve seen, though, Pareja will rotate between the two formations throughout the match.
Tesho Rising
Tesho Akindele will make his fourth straight start, just the second time he’s had such a streak in the last two years. You can read more on why the striker is forcing his way into a starting role here.
Akindele made a career-high 14 straight starts from May 21-August 30 in 2014.
