FRISCO - FC Dallas will continue their season-opening home stand against the Portland Timbers this afternoon at 2:30 (UniMas, Twitter).
Same XI
Oscar Pareja will roll out the same Starting XI for consecutive matches for the first time this season. Last year, Dallas kept the same lineup in consecutive matches on just three occasions. The head man spoke highly of his group over the opening 30-plus minutes before Clint Dempsey’s red card and it’s no surprise the same group will get another look today.
After a three-goal offensive output against Seattle, Roland Lamah will stay on the left wing opposite Michael Barrios with Maxi Urruti up top and Mauro Diaz pulling the strings in the middle.
Deep Bench
With Tesho Akindele on international duty, Victor Ulloa is the only change to the entire 18-man roster from last week, returning to action after some hamstring tightness kept him out of the Sounders match. Santiago Mosquera and Cristian Colman both look to make appearances off the bench again.
Paxton Pomykal is available after not leaving for U.S. U-20 camp this week and is also registered with the FCD U-19s for the Dallas Cup Super Group in the week ahead. His usage tonight will determine his availability for the Academy in tomorrow’s tournament opener vs. Arsenal.
Maurer vs. Former Coach
While Maxi Urruti vs. his former team garners most of the interest when Dallas and Portland square off, Jimmy Maurer will make his third MLS start against his coach over the last few seasons, Giovanni Savarese. The 29-year-old is tied for the second-best goals against average number in MLS (0.50) with just one goal against in two matches. Kyle Zobeck, who is backing up Maurer on the bench, also played with Savarese and Maurer with the New York Cosmos in recent seasons.
