Fifth meets sixth in the Western Conference on Sunday when FC Dallas welcome the challenge of fellow playoff hopefuls Colorado Rapids.
Two sides that have enjoyed identical starts to the campaign, little separate the pair in the table and not much is expected to get between them on the field.
Match preview
© Reuters
Two wins, two draws and one defeat is about as consistent as it could have gone for Dallas in their five opening fixtures.
Sitting pretty in fifth, the Texas-based outfit will be confident of competing at the right end of the Western Conference as the season progresses.
A goalless draw against Eastern Conference high-flyers Chicago Fire last time out did not dent their progress, as the Burn are now unbeaten in three outings.
Their only defeat of this term so far came against last season's Supporters' Shield winners New England Revolution, meaning they are yet to lose to any side from the Western Conference.
That stat will inspire the Dallas faithful heading into this weekend's fixture, as they look to take points off a Colorado side who boast the exact same five-game record to themselves.
Below Dallas by virtue of goal difference, the Rapids are yet to lose since the opening game of the campaign, when Western Conference leaders Los Angles FC took three points off them.
Ever since, a resilient Rapids backline has kept two clean sheets, while picking up two wins and a further two draws.
However, they are in the middle of a mini winless run, having been held in each of their last two outings, with Colorado hoping to avoid a third consecutive 1-1 draw.
History suggests they have got every chance of doing just that as Colorado have won three of the last five meetings between the two 'to nil'.
It is just one win in this fixture since March 2019 for Dallas, who will be eyeing up another three points when the pair go head-to-head on Sunday.
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Confident of getting a result, Dallas will be buoyed by the fact that they only have one player missing through injury.
Nicky Hernandez is expected to return from a foot problem before the end of the month, but Sunday's clash will be one week too soon.
Having kept a clean sheet last time out, goalkeeper Maarten Paes will be eyeing up maiden back-to-back shutouts this season.
In contrasting fashion, Colorado do have a number of players in the treatment room, with Aboubacar Keita expected to be missing until November with an ACL injury.
While not expected to be out as long, Braian Galvan is also likely to be missing until the autumn, as the forward is recovering from an ACL injury as well.
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Nanu, Hedges, Martinez, Farfan; Servania, Quignon, Pomykal; Obrian, Jara, Velasco
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Abubakar, Wilson, Trusty; Rosenberry, Price, Kaye, Esteves; Barrios, Rubio, Lewis
We say: Dallas 1-0 Colorado Rapids
It is not usually the case that five games into the campaign a team can make such a big statement with a win, but the victors from this playoff bout will do just that.
Both teams are in form, but a Dallas victory in front of a home crowd is where this game will go.
Top tip
Amos Murphy
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Dallas win with a probability of 48.71%. A draw had a probability of 25.8% and a win for Colorado Rapids had a probability of 25.46%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dallas win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.05%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.27%) and 2-0 (9.12%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.25%), while for a Colorado Rapids win it was 0-1 (8.1%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 4.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Dallas would win this match.
