August Outlook: Has FC Dallas turned the corner on their 2021 season?

July at times was brutal for FC Dallas but things are starting to look up as we head towards the stretch run of the season.

Seven points in six games. That was the tally that FC Dallas picked up in a road-heavy month of July. Now the club begins the month of August with a very home-friendly month ahead. Let’s break down the next month of play that also has six games and a lot of intrigue with in-state rivals coming to town for the first time.

Seattle Sounders – away – August 4

Is Seattle as good as they are advertised? They’ve been banged up all season long and despite that, they’re still near the top of the standings. Lately, they’ve had to roll out a slew of their younger players for the first time, something FC Dallas is very familiar with doing. It looked to work a couple of weeks ago in Austin but the last two results at home have been dicy for the Sounders with two straight losses to SKC and San Jose.

Dallas doesn’t have great success in Washington historically, but this could be the perfect time to pick up some points.

Austin FC – home – August 7

When the season started, I believe this was one of those games that we all circled that we were immediately intrigued by. I know I was. We finally get to see what a rivalry with Austin will be like in MLS as FC Dallas begins a three-game homestand with this one on Saturday. Both sides will be coming into this one fresh off a midweek game, though Austin only has to deal with Houston, so they aren’t traveling to the West Coast like FCD is. It could be a tricky game as Austin looks to potentially build momentum against their Texas rivals this week.

Sporting Kansas City – home – August 14

Ah, the return match with SKC comes nice and quick after last weekend’s fun in Kansas. I know we should be more excited about our rivalries with Austin and Houston these days but the heat in the series with SKC is way more enjoyable to watch these days. Between how the fans reacted to losing to FCD over the weekend or just Peter Vermes bitching and moaning about everything under the sun when he faces Luchi Gonzalez. Whatever it may be, this should be a lively one yet again.

Seattle Sounders – home – August 18

Just like with SKC, we get a return match with the Sounders fairly quickly too. And once again it is a midweek game (I know we should embrace the Wednesday night games more but I just am not there yet to do that). By this point, we’ll know a little more about where the club stands in the playoff race but I’ll say what I always say about home games, you gotta win them.

Houston Dynamo – away – August 21

We wrap up the month with back-to-back road rivalry games. The first being a weekend trip to Houston as the club looks to maintain their Texas Derby lead following a win earlier this season in Frisco. If things remain for the Dynamo, this could be a game that we get a draw in as the Orange currently lead MLS with nine draws (four of those are in Houston). If things remain the way we’ve seen the last two weeks out of both clubs, this should actually be a win for FCD.

Austin FC – away – August 29

The last game of the month is a trip to the state capital, one that I am eager to get down and see for myself in person. The expansion side only has one win in their new stadium at the moment as they continue to look more and more like an expansion squad. This feels like another game that FC Dallas should be able to find points in too.

Outlook

For the second month in a row, we have six games to deal with. This should be a month that favors this squad a lot. Even with three road games, not having to leave the State of Texas after Wednesday’s game in Seattle is a huge bonus.

To me, if this club is going to continue this momentum that they’ve slowly begun building here from the last two games, it will come down to winning all three home games and finding some sort of balance on the road like we saw this past Saturday in Kansas City.

I do think it is doable to pick up at least 10 points, if not more in this month. Ideally, we would see 12 points here with at least one win on the road. What do you all feel is doable this month for FC Dallas in terms of points? Has the last two games changed your mind about where this club could be going here this season? Let’s discuss that below.