After relinquishing first place in the Western Conference on Sunday, Sporting Kansas City will return to MLS action on Wednesday, travelling to Toyota Stadium to meet with Dallas.
A new manager could not change the fortunes of the Toros, who are winless in five straight games after falling 1-0 to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, while KC dropped to second in the West following their 2-1 defeat versus the Seattle Sounders.
Match preview
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They had a new man at the helm, but it was the same old Dallas side that we have seen through much of the season this past weekend, seeing plenty of the ball but unable to produce enough quality.
Interim manager Marco Ferruzzi saw his team create some good scoring opportunities in Vancouver, but even with 60% of the possession and seven shots on target, they never really found their flow until the final 20 minutes of play.
Five of their final seven regular-season games will take place in the lone star state, so there is a glimmer of hope that the Toros can reverse their nine-point deficit and make it to the postseason, but it will not be easy having to face six teams who are in an extremely tight battle for playoff positioning.
It is at the point where it feels like a now or never scenario for Dallas the rest of the way, given how much ground they have to make up, so putting together a long winning streak may be their only hope.
History does not suggest that they are capable of doing that, unfortunately, with the Toros only able to string together one winning run of more than three consecutive games since the 2016 regular season.
When they have less possession, they tend to generate more favourable results, losing only one of their last six matches in which their opponents had more of the ball.
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With an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the Sounders, Kansas City were disappointing as they dropped their first MLS contest at home since a 2-1 defeat to Dallas at the end of July.
Peter Vermes knows that his players were uncharacteristically sloppy in their own defensive zone, making two costly giveaways, something that you cannot afford to do if you want to unseat the reigning Western Conference champions.
All year, Vermes has emphasized the importance of his team being honest with one another and learning from their mistakes, and it is that philosophy which has enabled them to always bounce back from a defeat.
Every once in a while, we see this team playing just because they have to, rather than playing to win, and that is an area which they will want to clean up with the postseason coming soon.
They are at their best when they can get the ball into the attack with some quick touches and clever movement, and the Wizards are as good as any side in MLS at controlling the pace of a game when they find that flow.
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Team News
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Jimmy Maurer made his 50th MLS appearance versus the Caps, stopping four of the five shots that he faced, while designated player Franco Jara missed a penalty in the closing moments of that game, having gone goalless now in four consecutive matches.
Beni Redzic missed their match on Saturday with an ankle sprain, Johnny Nelson has not recovered from his back surgery and Ryan Hollingshead is still suffering the effects of a foot injury.
The Toros will be without Matt Hedges because of a yellow card suspension, while midfielder Szabolcs Schon who is tied with Jesus Ferreira for the team lead in assists has been called up to the Hungarian national team for their upcoming World Cup 2022 qualifiers, meaning that he will not be available after their match with Minnesota United on October 2.
KC forward Johnny Russell has been in fine form of late, scoring his third goal in his last three games on Sunday as he is now one of only five players in the league this year to score at least seven times while also collecting seven assists.
Defenders Graham Zusi and llie had a tough night at the back as their mix-up in the second half gifted Seattle a second goal which turned out to be the game-winner.
Zusi will not be available for this match after picking up another caution, Felipe Hernandez remains out for personal reasons, Jaylin Lindsey has a hamstring issue, Alan Pulido is questionable with a knee injury and their top goalscorer Daniel Salloi will leave the team following their match on Sunday, October 3 against the Houston Dynamo to join Hungary in their quest to qualify for the World Cup.
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Maurer; Twumasi, Martinez, Bressan, Che; Ricaurte, Acosta; Schon, Ferreira, Obrian; Pepi
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Puncec, llie, Fontas, Martins; Duke, Barber, Walter; Russell, Shelton, Salloi
We say: Dallas 0-2 Sporting Kansas City
KC are one of the top teams in the league for a reason, because they can shake off a loss with a strong performance, and that should be the case on Wednesday when they face a Toros squad who have only scored once in their previous three home fixtures.
Top tip
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 45.61%. A win for Sporting Kansas City had a probability of 28.94% and a draw had a probability of 25.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dallas win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.19%) and 2-0 (7.94%). The likeliest Sporting Kansas City win was 0-1 (7.96%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.09%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 2.7% likelihood.
