FC Dallas has a chance to clinch the playoffs with a win against the LA Galaxy this Saturday, Oct. 11 at 9:30 p.m. CT at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Here's everything you need to know before the match.
HOW TO WATCH
The match will be streamed in both English and Spanish on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
HOW TO LISTEN
You can listen to all the action on the FC Dallas app and YouTube channel with broadcasters Ryan Figert, Steve Davis and Sam Hale. Pregame coverage begins at 9:15 p.m. CT.
MATCH OVERVIEW
Head-to-Head Records
- FCD record: 10-11-11 (41 points, 8th in West)
- LAG record: 5-18-9 (24 points, 15th in West)
- FCD vs. LAG all-time: 35-36-13 (128 goals scored, 138 goals conceded)
- FCD vs. LAG away: 9-27-6 (49 goals scored, 84 goals conceded)
Story Lines
Win and We're in: Yep, that's right. FC Dallas will clinch a spot in the postseason with a win over the Galaxy on Saturday. But there's one caveat. Technically, the ninth-place spot they'd clinch isn't in the Audi MLS Cup Playoff proper. The eighth and ninth place spots are for the single-elimination play-in game that sees the winner move on to the first round of the playoffs proper (which is a best-of-three series). Still, a win guarantees an extra game beyond the regular season — an achievement that would be almost unthinkable two months ago when Dallas was experiencing growing pains and sitting in 13th place. Further, a win on Saturday is the only result that guarentees anything; a loss or draw doesn't mathematically rule Dallas out but would then require the team to get a positive result away in Vancouver the following weekend and rely on other results around the Western Conference. So, the mission for Saturday is simple: Win and you earn yourself a lottery ticket for the MLS Cup.
The New King of Goals?: Forward Petar Musa is on the brink of history. Last time out, Dallas' prolific Croatian tied the club's all-time single-season scoring record with his 18th goal of the campaign. With it, he matched club legends Jason Kreis, Kenny Cooper and Jesús Ferreira who all reached the 18-goal mark in 1999, 2008, and 2022 respectively. But with two games remaining, Musa has an excellent chance of going one further and owning FCD's single-season goal record outright. Musa has scored in five-straight games and doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon. And with 10 goals in his last 10 appearances, you'd be a brave person to bet against him finding the net once again — especially up against a Galaxy backline that's conceded the second-most goals in the Western Conference. If Musa scores this Saturday, he'll officially be the club's new King of Goals.
Long Time, No See: Thanks to a scheduling quirk, FC Dallas is facing off against the LA Galaxy in back-to-back weeks. Originally, Dallas was supposed to travel to the LA Galaxy back in August but that match was pushed to Oct. 11 to accomodate LA's deep run in the Leagues Cup. And, as luck would have it, that's exactly one week after Dallas and LA faced off in Frisco, with FCD earning a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Petar Musa and Patrickson Delgado. It's exceedingly rare for teams to face one another back to back in MLS and could affect how the head coaches approach the match tactically. Do they run it back with a similar lineup or make wholesale changes to potentially catch the opponent off guard? We'll have to wait until late Saturday night to find out.
