FC Dallas and Colorado both look to continue their unbeaten streaks at Toyota Stadium
FC Dallas left Chicago with a point last weekend after a slow game that didn’t see much offense from either side. The good guys come home this week to play the Colorado Rapids where we hope for a much more…rapid…pace to the game.
Will Colorado continue their unbeaten streak?
After opening the season with a loss against LAFC, the Rapids have yet to be on the losing side of a match. They’ll enter Toyota Stadium coming off back-to-back 1-1 draws against Real Salt Lake and Houston and will look to get back into the win column for the first time since a 2-0 win against Sporting Kansas City.
After being a powerhouse in the Western Conference last year, Colorado has been somewhat less dominant this season. Although they lost a couple of key players in Kellyn Acosta to LAFC and Cole Bassett to Dutch side Feyenoord, this season’s team is roughly the same as last. More importantly, the Rapids did not exactly bring in a goal scorer which was the largest weakness and arguably the reason for their early playoff exit. If Colorado wants to leave Toyota Stadium with three points, they’re going to need to elevate their attacking game against an FC Dallas backline that’s only allowed three goals this season.
Can Jesus have a repeat performance?
The largest reason for the lack of offensive output for FC Dallas in Chicago was the lack of Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola up top. Although Jader Obrian and Franco Jara held their ground, the drop off from past weeks was clear and resulted in only one shot on goal.
Ferreira should return to his starting role up top this week and look to build off his hat trick last time out against Portland. Arriola’s status, however, is less certain. After missing a USMNT and FC Dallas game in the past two weeks, Arriola looks to be training with the team and could be seen in the starting lineup again this weekend. If that does happen to be the case, expect at least one ball to touch the net before the game is over. With Alan Velasco added to the mix, the new FC Dallas front three appears to be a threat against anyone in the league now. Arriola and Ferreira seem to have true chemistry and Velasco has all the tools needed to be a top player in the MLS. When all three of them get on the same page, the league will probably want to take notice.
Whose unbeaten streak is coming to an end?
On paper, this should be a close one. Both teams have eight points in five games, both teams have six goals scored, and both teams are well rounded. The difference in this one is going to come down to the back lines. FC Dallas has only allowed three goals this year to Colorado’s five. And while three of those came against a high powered LAFC team, they still exposed holes in the Rapid’s defense. On a nice night, in front of a home crowd, expect Dallas to find those holes and leave with three points.
Prediction: FC Dallas 2-0 Colorado Rapids
How to Watch:
Venue: Toyota Stadium, Frisco TX
Kickoff Time: Saturday, April 9th, 7:30 PM CST
Available TV: TXA 21 Dallas
Available Streaming: FCDallas.com, ESPN+
Available Radio: 1270AM, FCDallas.com/Radio