Four of the final six are at home, but will that even matter?
What a month it has been for FC Dallas. Just when things were looking decent enough for the club, things took a massive turn, and now we’re looking at a less than 1% chance of reaching the playoffs this season.
So can interim manager Marco Ferruzzi turn the tide with a home-friendly schedule in the final month or so of the regular season? Or will it continue to be more of the same, like we’ve seen in this recent stretch that has yielded one win in the last ten games?
Minnesota United – home – October 2
First up is tomorrow’s clash with the Loons to wrap up three games in week. Wednesday night proved the defense wasn’t ready to turn a corner and Minnesota has certainly found a way to have FCD’s number in 2021. Maybe with the added crowd for the Hall of Fame inductions this weekend and the Willie Nelson concert, things will turn out a little more positive for the guys. Maybe.
LAFC – home – October 20
Thanks to a FIFA break for the second month in a row, Ferruzzi will finally get some real-time to work with players the way he wants to. LAFC is also in the hunt for the playoffs here and is on the outside looking in, like FC Dallas. If there was ever a time to catch this team, it could be this one.
LA Galaxy – away – October 23
The first of two road games in this stretch sees a weekend trip to LA. The Galaxy have been reeling lately themselves and could very well be fighting for their playoff lives at this point. As of this writing, the Galaxy has an eight-game winless streak that includes some rough losses to Austin and San Jose. So, yeah, anything is possible against them.
Real Salt Lake – home – October 27
This will be the middle part of another three games in a week for the club. This is another midweek home game, one that you have to imagine that we will know exactly where FC Dallas stands in terms of playoff contention. More than likely, they’ll be eliminated from contention by this point or even after this game.
Austin FC – home – October 30
The final home game of the season could be the make-or-break in terms of FC Dallas winning anything of note this season. Currently, FCD is tied with Houston in the Copa Tejas standings and will know if they need a draw or a win in this one to secure the crown for 2021. Austin could sneak in here as they have one game against the Dynamo left before this one that could determine if they are in contention for it or not.
San Jose Earthquakes – away – November 7
Decision Day won’t really be much of one for FC Dallas in 2021. San Jose currently still has a chance to reach the postseason so this could be more for them. Still, I would imagine both will be eliminated from contention at this point and we’ll be seeing some random lineups that will be fun of guys that are playing for 2022.
Outlook
Sure, there are six games and 18 points up for grabs. But given how the last two months have gone I don’t think any of us truly believe we’ll see even those 12 points at home as a sure thing with this club. I’d like to believe they can get at least nine from this set of games but until the defense steps up, we’re probably not going to see a ton of points roll in all of a sudden.
What I would like to see during this stretch, maybe one of those final home games, is Ferruzzi to go bold and pull out a mostly Homegrown lineup. He could easily find a way to work seven or eight into a lineup and really blow some people’s minds with it in the process.
What do you think of the final six games for FC Dallas? Will it be more of the same here? Is it a good time for Ferruzzi to experiment with his lineups once the team is officially out of playoff contention? Let us know below.