3rd seed in the West FC Dallas (53 pts, 14-9-11) hosts 6th seed in the West Minnesota United (48 points, 14-14-6) tonight at 8:30 pm at Toyota Stadium.
The winner advances to face Austin FC on Sunday, October 23rd at 7 pm down in Austin.
Broadcast Info
TV (English): FOX Sports 1.
TV (Spanish): FOX Deportes.
English Radio: iHeartMedia 1190AM and the iHeartMedia app starting at 8 pm.
Spanish Radio: 1270AM, starting at 8:30 pm CT.
Lineup Prediction
It’s the playoffs. No more rotation, no more rest, no more work load management… it’s all in for the wing.
I do have one injury concern, I thought I saw Matt Hedges reach for his groin shortly before he subbed out last game. Combine that the Loons being a team that wants to get you in transition and come at your defense with pace… and that Nkosi Tafari started both games against Minnesota during the regular season… And that Coach Nico Estevez said he was very close to picking Nkosi in the regular-season final… I’m penciling in Tafari starting.
Your mileage may vary on my prediction, it could quite easily be Hedges.
Yes, I think Coach Estevez will start Alan Velasco.
Bench Prediction
Jimmy Maurer
Franco Jara
Facudo Quignon
Nanu
Brandon Servania
Matt Hedges (or Nkosi Tafari)
Jader Obrian
Tsiki Ntsabeleng
Kalil ElMedkhar
MLS Player Availability Report
FC Dallas
OUT: Bernard Kamungo (right ankle)
Minnesota United
OUT: B. Dibassy – Thigh (out for the season)
OUT: H. Dotson – Knee (out for the season)
OUT: J. Hayes – Lower Leg (out for the season)
OUT: P. Weah – Knee (season)
MLS Kit Assignments
Leave it to MLS to do content all year and then stop for the playoffs… so here are the kit assignments from the FC Dallas home game against the Loons back in May. The team jerseys should be accurate for today but take the keepers and officials with a grain of salt.
Officials
Referee: Ted Unkel
Ast. Referee 1: Corey Rockwell
Ast. Referee 2: Ryan Graves
Fourth official: Rosendo Mendoza
VAR: Drew Fischer
Ast. VAR: Jeff Muschik
| Unkel Stats | Regular Season | MLS Cup Playoffs |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 151 | 7 |
| Yellows/Game | 4.06 | 2.57 |
| Reds (per game) | 45 (.30) | 1 (0.14) |
| Penalties | 76 | 0 |
| Fouls/Game | 23.25 | 23.29 |
Interesting, Unkel can’t find his cards in the playoffs. Small sample size but the foul rate is the same and the yellows and reds are down.
Other Game Info
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- FCD record: 14-9-11 (53 points – 3rd in West)
- MIN record: 14-14-6 (48 points – 6th in West)
- FCD vs. MIN all-time: 6-6-2 (21 goal scored, 19 goals conceded)
- FCD vs. MIN all-time home: 4-1-2 (14 goals scored, 7 goals conceded)
FC Dallas is hosting a home playoff match for the first time since Oct. 31, 2018, when it hosted the Portland Timbers at Toyota Stadium during the Knockout Round.
FC Dallas holds an 11-8-5 overall home playoff record.
Minnesota United FC will be the 11th different opponent that FC Dallas has faced in the postseason.
The Sounders or Timbers have eliminated FC Dallas from each of its last six playoff appearances. The last team other than Seattle or Portland to knock Dallas out of the playoffs was the Red Bulls in 2011.
Matt Hedges leads FCD with 13 postseason appearances
The FC Dallas defense conceded 37 goals in 34 matches this season, second in the league (first in the Western Conference) with the least amount of goals allowed.
Maarten Paes registered eight clean sheets, recorded 92 saves, kept a 73% saves percentage, and finished the season second in the league amongst starting goalkeepers with a 1.06 GAA.
Minnesota scored 48 goals and conceded 51 goals this season. The club ranks sixth in the West in goals scored and last in goals conceded
FC Dallas finished the season unbeaten in its last seven home games (W5 D2). Dallas hasn’t allowed more than one goal in any of its last nine home matches, holding opponents to just seven goals at Toyota Stadium in that time.
Edwin Cerrillo is FCD’s most accurate passer with an 89.5 accuracy percentage.
Paxton Pomykal led FCD in duels with 319 total.
Jesús Ferreira tied the single-regular-season club record with 18 goals for FC Dallas this season. (Kreis, Cooper)
Emanuel Reynoso led Minnesota with 10 goals and 11 assists during the 2022 MLS regular season. He is one of three players with double-digit goals and assists this season (H. Mukhtar, C. Vela).
Since 2015, FCD is 89-9-27 when scoring first.
Since 2015, FC Dallas has a 0.866 winning percentage and 92-6-19 when scoring at least two goals.
Minnesota is the Western Conference club with the longest active playoffs streak at four.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Tsiki Ntsabeleng are the only two active MLS players that hail from South Africa.
FC Dallas has now appeared in MLS Cup Playoffs 19 times since it was named a charter club of the league in 1996.