FC Dallas welcomes St. Louis CITY SC (That’s the last time I’ll follow their style guide, I promise!) back to town to resume the abandoned game from May 6 with the score still 0-0.
When
The game kicks off at 7:39 pm on Wednesday, June 7. The game will resume play in the 50th minute with an FC Dallas goal kick in front of the former beer garden at the North end of Toyota Stadium.
The original game was stopped with the game clock at exactly 50:00 after former Dallas left back Johnny Nelson had put the ball out of play with lightning in the area at 8:52 pm. The decision to abandon the game was then made at 10:40 pm.
As ever, the game will be available on MLS Season Pass.
Ticket Information
Effectively if you were there, you can be there again. There are no primary or secondary ticket sales for the resumed game, although tickets can be transferred directly to another user via the AXS app.
Parking will be free of charge in all lots except Gold and Platinum.
On the Field
Major League Soccer has a match postponement policy that lays out what Nico Estevez and his counterpart Bradley Carnell can do.
Both teams will need to resume the game with the same players on the field, which appears to be an easy feat for St. Louis. FC Dallas, however, will be missing the midfield duo of Paxton Pomykal and Sebastian Lletget from when the game was stopped on May 6.
In the case of injured players, they can be replaced by a player originally in the 20-man roster without using up a substitute. Those players are:
Jimmy Maurer
Edwin CerrilloJesus Jimenez (subbed ’25 for Paul Arriola)Tsiki Ntsabeleng (knee)
Alan VelascoEma Twumasi (ankle)
Sam Junqua
Nolan Norris
Bernard Kamungo
The obvious choice seems like Edwin Cerrillo and Alan Velasco, and adopting the recent 4-4-2.
One further thing to keep in mind is that three St. Louis players will resume play on a yellow card. Tim Parker, Nicholas Gioacchini, and Tomás Ostrák. No FC Dallas players were booked.
On the Bench
Tsiki Ntsabeleng and Ema Twumasi can also be replaced in the matchday roster, most likely by Nkosi Tafari – who missed the original game through injury – and Herbert Endeley. The Dallas bench will be one player short, after Paul Arriola‘s early substitution. That will also count against FC Dallas’ number of substitutions and substitution windows, leaving Estevez with two windows for four subs.
What to Expect
Coach Nico Estevez preached intensity for the condensed 40-minute game between the Western Conference leaders’ style and FCD’s own press.
“I feel like the first 10-15 minutes is going to be a little bit hectic and chaotic. Also because the way that St. Louis plays. How they want to high press you, how they want to play more direct. Then after that I think the game will get some kind of break to recover a little bit. After that 5-10 minutes they will come again, and it will fluctuate around. For us, it’s very important to press in those moments where the game is hectic.”
Nico Estevez on his expectations for the game
Both teams have the potential to change their shape. Coach Estevez mentioned that although St. Louis adopted a diamond 4-4-2 for the start of the game, they have found success in a 4-2-3-1 since and he expects that shape to be used.
Dallas similarly has found some relative success in a different shape. The tried and trusted 4-3-3 was employed on May 6, but with Jesus Ferreira and Jesus Jimenez both on the field, you’d expect to see more of a 4-4-2 with a central midfield of Facundo Quignon and Edwin Cerrillo.