FC Dallas, for the first time in a while, had no mid-week game so they should go into this weekends matchup against Columbus rested and healthy.
Game Info
Fourth-place FC Dallas (5-3-5, 20 points) hosts first-place Columbus Crew SC (9-2-3, 25 points) tonight at 7:30PM CT. It’s the first and only meeting between the two teams this season.
Gameday Social: #FCDvCLB
TV: 7PM CT on TXA 21, FCDTV Network
Streaming: 7PM CT on FCDallas.com/Stream, ESPN+ (outside of the DFW market)
Radio: 7PM CT on FCDallas.com/Radio (English) and 1270AM (Spanish)
FC Dallas Lineup Prediction
Last weekend against Orlando, Coach Luchi Gonzalez rolled out his first choice XI. Without the midweek game this lineup should pretty much be the same.
With Santiago Mosquera out, the only change should be Fafa Picault at left wing.
Bench Prediction: Phelipe, Johnny Nelson, Bressan, Edwin Cerrillo, Jesus Ferreira, Brandon Servania, Tanner Tessmann, Dante Sealy, and Ricardo Pepi.
More Game Info, Stats, and Bits
The Crew top the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings on 30 points (2.14 points per game). While Columbus’ attack has been strong (23 goals from 14 games), its real strength comes from a stingy defense that has only allowed eight goals so far—two fewer than any other team in MLS.
Dallas has a strong defensive record of its own, conceding just 13 goals so far this season, second-fewest in the Western Conference.
This will be the 49th time FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew face off in MLS play. Dallas has a 17-20-11 (63 goals for, 64 against) all-time record against the Crew and hold a 12-6-4 (37 goals for, 25 against) home record against them. The last time the clubs played, Dallas fell 1-0 at MAPFRE Stadium on March 16, 2019. In the most recent meeting at Toyota Stadium, the teams played to a scoreless tie on Sept. 15, 2018.
Columbus has enjoyed a strong 2020 season and sit atop the Eastern Conference with 30 points from 14 games. While the Crew have a perfect 7-0-0 home record, its away form is less daunting, posting a 2-2-3 record on their travels.
MLS Injury Report
FC Dallas
- OUT: M – Paxton Pomykal (hip)
- OUT: M – Santiago Mosquera (thigh)
Columbus Crew SC
- OUT: D – Vito Wormgoor (ankle injury)
- OUT: M – Darlington Nagbe (not medically cleared)
- OUT: D – Waylon Francis (not medically cleared)
SUSPENDED: both teams – none
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: both teams – none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS
FCD: Michael Barrios, Thiago Santos
Crew: None
REFEREE: Ted Unkel.
AR1 (bench): Frank Anderson;
AR2 (opposite): Jeremy Kieso;
4th: Elton Garcia;
VAR: Chris Penso;
AVAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
Unkel MLS Career:
103 games;
FC/gm: 23.6;
Y/gm: 3.9;
R: 33;
pens: 53
LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD:
FC Dallas 17 wins (1 shootout), 63 goals
Crew SC 20 wins (1 shootout), 64 goals
Ties 11
AT DALLAS:
FC Dallas 12 wins (1 shootout), 37 goals
Crew SC 6 wins (1 shootout), 25 goals
Ties 4
Team Leaders
FC DALLAS
G: 5 Jara
A: 3 Barrios
SHT: 20 Barrios
SOG: 10 Jara
FC: 29 Thiago Santos
FS: 36 Thiago Santos
OF: 6 Jara
C: 6 Thiago Santos
E: 1 Acosta
CREW SC
G: 9 Zardes
A: 6 Santos
SHT: 25 Diaz/Zardes
SOG: 14 Zardes
FC: 29 Artur
FS: 27 Santos
OF: 11 Zardes
C: 3 3 players tied
E: 0
Last week, Jimmy Maurer was credited with three saves in recording his third shutout of the season, the first two coming in back-to-back games Aug. 16-21.
Last week, The three goals conceded marked the first time Crew SC had allowed three goals in a game since May 25, 2019, a 3-2 loss at Colorado, a span of 33 league matches.
CURRENT FC DALLAS GOALS
VS. CREW SC
Michael Barrios – 1
CURRENT CREW SC GOALS
VS. FC DALLAS
Darlington Nagbe – 5
Fanendo Adi – 4
Gyasi Zardes – 2
Hector Jimenez – 1
Emmanuel Boateng – 1
Jonathan Mensah – 1
Season Goal Leaders
| FC Dallas | Columbus Crew | ||
| Franco Jara | 5 | Gyasi Zardes | 6 |
| Santiago Mosquera | 4 | Pedro Santos | 3 |
| Ricardo Pepi | 2 | Lucas Zelarayán | 3 |
| Zdenek Ondrasek | 2 | 3 tied | 1 |
Season Stats
| FC Dallas | Columbus Crew | |
| 13 | Games Played | 14 |
| 5 | Wins | 9 |
| 3 | Losses | 2 |
| 5 | Draws | 3 |
| 19 | Goals | 23 |
| 13 | Goals Conceded | 8 |
| 111 | Shots | 125 |
| 57 | Shots on Target | 57 |
| 158 | Fouls committed | 186 |
| 164 | Fouls suffered | 198 |
| 16 | Offside | 24 |
| 61 | Corners | 71 |
FC Dallas is sixth in the league, and ranks second in the Western
Conference, with 13 goals conceded (1.00 GAA) in 2020, while Columbus
Crew SC leads the league with only eight goals conceded (0.57 GAA).
FC Dallas (5-3-5) has a .917 winning percentage (5-0-1 record) when
scoring the first goal of the match and a 0-3-1 record (.125 winning
percentage) when conceding the first goal in 2020.
FCD’s Jimmy Maurer is second in the league with a 0.67 goals against
average (GAA), while Columbus’ Eloy Room leads the league with a
0.64 GAA.
Maurer is also third in the league based on saves percentage,
saving 84.8% of the shots he’s faced (28 out of 33), while Room is 10th
with a 74.2 saves percentage.
Room has recorded seven shutouts, while Maurer earned his third shutout on Sunday against Orlando City.
Since the creation of the league back in 1996, FC Dallas has an overall
record of 23-22-15 in the month of October with a 0.508 winning
percentage. In matches played at home in OCT, FC Dallas has a 17-5-8 record and 0.700 winning percentage.
FC Dallas has a 2-3-0 record and 0.400 winning percentage in games decided by one goal, while Columbus Crew SC has a 4-1-0 record (0.800 winning percentage).
Since 2015, FCD is 69-5-16 when scoring first.
Since 2015, FC Dallas has a 0.900 winning percentage and 71-3-11 when
scoring at least two goals.
50 FC DALLAS REGULAR SEASON APPEARANCES
Jesús Ferreira (45)
100 MLS APPEARANCES
Fafa Picault (99)
Through 14 matches in the 2020 MLS regular season, Jonathan
Mensah is one of only three field players – along with New York City FC’s Alexander Callens and Minnesota United’s Michael Boxall – to have played 1,260 minutes this season.
With the 2-1 victory over Minnesota United FC (September 23), Head Coach Caleb Porter tallied his 99th professional victory across all domestic competitions since joining MLS in 2013.
2020 REGULAR-SEASON GOLDEN BOOT STANDINGS
- Diego Rossi (LAFC)…………………. 11
- Gyasi Zardes (CLB)……………….. 9
- Raul Ruidiaz (SEA)………………….. 8
T-4. Chris Mueller (ORL) …………….. 7
T-4. Jordan Morris (SEA)……………. 7
T-4. Bradley Wright-Phillips (LAFC) . 7
T-4. Kacper Przybylko (PHI)……….. 7
Since the beginning of the 2018 MLS regular season, no American player has scored more goals in the League than forward Gyasi Zardes. The 29-year-old has tallied 41 goals in 73 regular-season appearances (72 starts) for Crew SC, the fourth-most goals in MLS regular-season action over
that same span.