FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas looks to bounce back from an opening day defeat with another home stand against the LA Galaxy on Saturday, March 4 at 7:30PM at Toyota Stadium.
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
How to Watch
Saturday's match will be available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, along with all MLS matches all season long. The game kicks off at 7:39PM with the great Mark Followill on the call alongside Lori Lindsey providing color commentary. Bruno Vain and Andrés Agulla call the game in Spanish, also on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
LISTEN
English: If you can't watch the match, you can listen to all the action on 97.1 The Freak and the FC Dallas App. Host Sam Hale will provide pregame and postgame coverage beginning at 7PM. Veteran FCD broadcasters Owen Newkirk and Steve Davis will provide in-game commentary with Garrett Melcer giving updates from the sideline.
Spanish: Carlos Alvarado and Rafa Calderon will call the game in Spanish on 1270AM, starting at 7:30PM.
Match Overview
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- FCD record: 0-1-0 (0 points - 13th in West)
- LA record: 0-0-0 (0 points - 6th in West)
- FCD vs. LA all-time: 31-35-13 (116 goal scored, 132 goals conceded)
- FCD vs. LA all-time home: 23-9-7 (72 goal scored, 52 goals conceded)
STORY LINES
Bounce Back
It wasn't the season kickoff FC Dallas had hoped for as the club fell 1-0 to Minnesota United FC (who was missing star playmaker Emanuel Reynoso) last Saturday, breaking its 13-year unbeaten streak in home openers. But don’t hit the panic button just yet. As head coach Nico Estévez pointed out in the postgame press conference, Dallas outshot the Loons 11 to eight while keeping 63% of the possession. Now, the only stat that truly matters is goals, of course, but it’s not like FCD was outplayed by any means. Dallas did struggle to turn its possession into clear-cut chances in the box (only one shot was on target) but much of that can be put down to early-season jitters in front of goal. Still, it will be important for Estévez’s team to bounce back with a positive result against the LA Galaxy this Saturday to prevent a subpar Game 1 turning into an overall subpar start to the season.
Debutants
The home opener saw two new faces introduced to the Toyota Stadium faithful. Defender Geovane Jesus and forward José Mulato both made their debuts as second-half substitutes. Jesus, a right back acquired from Brazil, replaced starter Ema Twumasi in the 67th minute and looked impressive when joining the attack. Jesus is still just 21, so it’s likely Estévez will slowly increase his involvement as he adapts to the new system. Mulato played the last 10 minutes of the opener alongside Ferreira in a two-striker system. It’s a tactic we saw at times last year with Franco Jara coming off the bench to be another reference in the box while Ferreira dropped deeper to find the ball. Mulato could be in line for a similar role – especially if Dallas is chasing a goal – against the Galaxy. It’s important the young Colombian makes an impact soon with fellow new signing Jesús Jiménez just a P1 Visa away from being available following his transfer from Toronto FC.
The Galaxy
Saturday’s match will be the season opener for the Galaxy after their much-anticipated EL Tráfico match against LAFC at the Rose Bowl was canceled for heavy rain in the area. Greg Vanney’s team will also be without star striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez who injured his hamstring in training last week. The next man up is likely to be Serbian international Dejan Joveljić, who scored 11 goals last year largely as Chicharito’s backup. He would’ve had 12 goals but had a penalty saved by Maarten Paes on LA’s last trip to Toyota Stadium—a venue they haven’t won at since 2015.
