Preview: Dallas vs. Nashville SC - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides who have experienced opposite fortunes in their respective starts to the MLS season will do battle on Saturday when Dallas welcome Nashville SC to the Toyota Stadium.

The hosts are still searching for their first win of the season, while the Coyotes have collected four points from their two opening matches.

Match preview

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Dallas opened their campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Toronto FC before they travelled to the Gillette Stadium for a meeting with New England Revolution.

It transpired to be a fruitless trip as a Carles Gil strike in first-half stoppage time proved to be enough to condemn the Burn to a 1-0 defeat.

With just one point to their name from their opening two matches, Estevez is still searching for his first win as Dallas boss.

However, the new head coach was fully aware that this would not be a quick fix after Dallas finished 11th in the Western Conference last season.

Last term, the Burn had to wait until the third game for their first victory of the season and Saturday's hosts will hope that it is third time lucky once again as they look to avoid a winless three-game start to the campaign.

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The visitors, meanwhile, will be aiming to continue their unbeaten start to the season after collecting four points from their opening two games.

Gary Smith's side got off to the perfect start thanks to a 1-0 away win over Seattle Sounders before they travelled to Minnesota for another away contest last weekend.

Nashville hit the front within five minutes courtesy of C.J. Sapong's opener, but the visitors were denied three points, when Hassani Dotson equalised in the second half.

With their new stadium not opening until May 1, the Coyotes still have to negotiate a further six consecutive away games in what promises to be a difficult opening couple of months to the season.

The visitors can take confidence from the fact that their only previous two trips to the Toyota Stadium resulted in a win and a draw, and they will be hoping to avoid defeat once again on Saturday.

Team News

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The hosts will be without the services of Nicky Hernandez, who is set to miss out through injury.

Franco Jara missed the opening two matches, but he is recovering well from injury and could be included in the squad for Saturday's contest.

Estevez has named the same starting lineup for the opening two games, and he is expected to opt for an unchanged team for the third game in a row.

Like their opponents, Nashville could also pick the same starting XI for the third consecutive match.

Walker Zimmerman - who will face his former club at the weekend - will once again partner David Romney in the centre of defence and after conceding just one goal in their opening two games, they will be confident that they can restrict Dallas on Saturday.

Sapong and Hany Mukhtar scored 28 goals between them last season, and the pair will offer Nashville's main goal threat at the Toyota Stadium.

Dallas possible starting lineup:

Paes; Twumasi, Hedges, Martinez, Farfan; Servania, Cerrillo, Pomykal; Arriola, Obrian, Ferreira

Nashville SC possible starting lineup:

Willis; Miller, Zimmerman, Romney, Lovitz; Davis, McCarty, Godoy, Leal; Mukhtar, Sapong

We say: Dallas 1-2 Nashville SC

All four previous meetings between the two sides took place in 2020, with Nashville winning two of those encounters, and we think that the visitors have that little bit of extra quality that will make all the difference on Saturday.