“Portland is where young people go to retire.”
Fred Armisen
4th in the West FC Dallas (40 points, 11-6-7) hosts 8th in the West Portland Timbers (32 points, 9-10-5) at 7:30 pm on Saturday night at Toyota Stadium.
Portland is a terrible 2-7-2 on the road this year, so this is a good opportunity for FC Dallas to improve its middle-of-the-pack 4-2-4 home record.
Kick Childhood Cancer Night
It’s Kick Childhood Cancer Night. The first 4,000 fans in attendance will receive a special FC Dallas bucket hat. FC Dallas will wear special Uniforms with KCC-themed specialty jersey numbers during the match. Fans can show their support with gold ribbon pins, which will be distributed at all Toyota Stadium gates.
The jerseys worn by FC Dallas players during the match will be auctioned through the DASH Auction App, beginning at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12 and ending at 5 p.m. on Sept. 18. All proceeds will benefit Children’s Health and its mission to make life better for children across North Texas. To learn more, visit give.childrens.com.
Weather
Sunny, in the mid-90s at kickoff. Still above 90 at the end of the game. Wind about 10 mph.
Broadcast Info
TV: Apple TV
– Apple TV English: Christian Miles, Kacey White
– Apple TV Spanish: Raul Guzman
– Dallas Audio: Ryan Figert, Steve Davis, and Sam Hale
MLS Injury/Player Availability Report
FC Dallas
Anderson Julio – muscle injury, lower leg (Out)
Osaze Urhoghide. – yellow card suspension (Out)
Suspended after one yellow: Daniel, Ramiro
2 yellows suspended: Christian Cappis, Patrickson Delgado, Nolan Norris, Sam Sarver.
Portland Timbers
Alexander Aravena – Hip (Out)
Brandon Bye – Knee (Out)
José Caicedo – Lower Body (Out)
David Da Costa – Concussion (Out)
Zac McGraw – Back (Out)
Juan Mosquera – Foot/Ankle (Out)
FC Dallas Lineup Prediction
With Osaze Urhoghide suspended for yellow cards, Nolan Norris comes back in, and Sebastien Ibeagha, on my card, slides into the middle. I also bring back Herman Johansson at right wing back. Ran Binyamin was fine and remains a viable choice, but he wasn’t better than Johansson.
I think this is the game FCD finally decides Daniel is available, so I stick him on the bench, with Jonathan Sirois getting one last game before Daniel starts. I’m 50/50 that Daniel actually starts.
My surprise move is to start Santi Moreno at home against his former team, returning Kaick to the double pivot.
Bench Prediction
Daniel
Christian Cappis
Petar Musa
Patrickson Delgado or Alvaro Augusto
Ran Binyamin
Sam Sarver
Clay Holstad
Lalas Abubakar
Josh Torquato
MLS Kit Assignments
Officials
Referee: Timothy Ford
Assistant Referees: Kali Smith, Gianni Facchini
4th Official: Armando Villarreal
VAR: Daniel Radford
Assistant VAR: Jeff Muschik
More Game Info
- FCD vs. POR all-time: 12-9-12 (56 goals scored, 40 goals conceded)
- FCD vs. POR home: 11-1-5 (41 goals scored, 17 goals conceded)
Dallas and Portland have matched up 38 times across all competitions. Dallas’ record is 13-12-13. So all but even over a lifetime between the two teams.
Dallas hasn’t earned a shutout in its last 7 matches.
Over their last five MLS matches, the Timbers have suffered just one defeat, posting a 2-1-2 record and outscoring opponents 12-10
Forward Santiago Moreno spent four seasons with Portland from 2021-25, making 131 regular-season appearances, scoring 20 goals, and recording 40 assists
Dallas is 8-5-0 in one-goal games
The Timbers have scored the third-most goals in the Western Conference and sixth-most in MLS at 46.
Kevin Kelsy leads Portland with nine goals this season.
The Timbers have scored 12 goals in their last five MLS matches but won only two.
In MLS, Dallas is 7-0-1 when leading at halftime and 10-1-3 when scoring first. They are also 1-5-2 when conceding first. Better to score first, duh.
FCD is third in MLS in aerial challenges won with 323.
Logan Farrington has drawn seven fouls in five career regular-season appearances against Portland, the most fouls suffered by an FC Dallas player in the series.
Los Toros are 10th in total distance covered in MLS with 2773.1 km (1723 miles). For a team that doesn’t possess much, and bunkers a fair bit, they sure run a lot.
FCD has scored 13 goals in their last five MLS matches, averaging 2.6 per game.
The Timbers have both scored and conceded in 13 straight competitive matches
Dallas is fifth in MLS in most goals scored with 47 and 14th in MLS in xG with 39.1. Clinical.
Kristoffer Velde has eight goals and nine assists for Portland this season.
The Burn are also tied for second in headed goals with nine.
Petar Musa is first in MLS in goals scored with 18 and second in MLS in xG with 13.16.
Sebastien Ibeagha recorded the 33rd fastest speed in MLS this season at 35.42 kph (22.01 mph).
Osaze Urhoghide ranks fourth in MLS in aerial challenges with 58 and is tied 20th in clearances with 30.
Vincent Janssen scored a hat trick in Portland’s 5-4 win over Minnesota on Sept. 5, becoming the first Portland player to score three goals in a match in club history. That was a run of 522 regular-season and playoff matches dating back to 2011.
FC Dallas All-Time Goals Record
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Jason Kreis | 91 |
| Jesus Ferreira | 53 |
| Petar Musa | 52 |
| Kenny Cooper | 46 |
| Blas Perez | 36 |
FC Dallas Single-Season Goals Record
| Player | Goals | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Kreis | 18 | 1999 |
| Kenny Cooper | 18 | 2008 |
| Jesus Ferreira | 18 | 2022 |
| Petar Musa | 18 | 2025 |
| Petar Musa | 18 | 2026 |
| Jeff Cunningham | 17 | 2009 |
| Petar Musa | 16 | 2024 |