Dallas will look to win away from home for the first time in 2021 when they battle Los Angeles FC on Wednesday at Banc of California Stadium.
The Toros came back to draw Minnesota United 1-1 on Saturday, while LAFC are now on the outside when it comes to playoff positioning after drawing the Houston Dynamo 1-1.
Match preview
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LAFC have dropped to ninth place in the Western Conference, and they have only themselves to blame for their current predicament as they continue to make mental errors, costing them points.
Over the weekend, they limited the Dynamo to just three shots total but allowed too much space to the Houston attack, who made them pay when Maximiliano Urruti equalised just eight minutes after Jose Cifuentes had given the Black and Gold the lead.
Bob Bradley saw his side get a lot of good looks against Houston, particularly in the first half of that match, but closing out a game continues to be a struggle for this team, who have conceded nine of their 10 goals in this campaign in the second half.
As they get set to play their second of three games in a week, the depth of this team will be tested as they look to climb into a playoff position, currently sitting three points behind the Dynamo for that final spot.
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Dallas failed to take advantage of Minnesota missing a pair of key figures in their starting 11 on Saturday as Luchi Gonzalez's side were virtually invisible until the second half when they were trailing 1-0.
However, they were fortunate to come away with even a single point after Emanuel Reynoso missed a glorious opportunity in the final minute which could have secured all three points for the Loons.
Dallas have never missed the playoffs since Gonzalez became manager, but as things stand right now, they are dead last in the Western Conference with seven points, with six teams to catch to get into a playoff position.
It is still early, but one area that has to be a concern is that this side have not shown a lot of consistency, and they continue to lack precision in front of goal, firing 65 shots in their last three matches but only scoring three goals.
They are winless in their last five fixtures, their longest such streak since 2017, when they failed to win 10 straight regular-season games from late July until September.
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Team News
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LAFC right-back Erik Duenas could miss out again with an ankle injury, and striker Kwadwo Opoku is still out with a knee injury.
Defender Diego Palacios will not be available for this match as he is currently on international duty, representing Ecuador at the Copa America.
After scoring a pair of goals in a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids, striker Diego Rossi is goalless in back-to-back games.
Centre-back Jesus Murillo continues to be invaluable in defence with 21 interceptions this season.
Thomas Roberts is still suffering the effects of a leg injury sustained for Dallas in mid-April, while goalkeeper Kyle Zobeck is still nursing a hamstring problem.
Jimmy Maurer made seven stops over the weekend against Minnesota and has conceded six goals in his last three games, facing 16 shots total in that span.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Sisniega; Harvey, Murillo, Segura, Farfan; Cifuentes, Atuesta, Kaye; Edwards, Baird, Rossi
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Maurer; Hollingshead, Burgess, Martinez, Nelson; Tessmann, Acosta; Jara, Ricaurte, Obrian; Pepi
We say: Los Angeles FC 1-0 Dallas
LAFC are due a win at home after a couple of strong performances lately that have not translated into victories because of one or two lapses in concentration.
However, making an error against Dallas is anything but fatal as they are a team that rarely make you pay for your mistakes, and they are at the bottom of the Western Conference standings because they have not figured out how to make all of their possession count.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
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 Los Angeles FC win with a probability of 61.91%. A draw had a probability of 20.2% and a win for Dallas had a probability of 17.88%.
The most likely scoreline for a Los Angeles FC win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.41%) and 1-0 (8.86%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.32%), while for a Dallas win it was 1-2 (4.91%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Los Angeles FC would win this match.
