Orlando City SC vs. FC Dallas
2017 MLS Regular Season
Orlando City Stadium – Orlando, Fla.
Saturday, September 30 – 4 pm ET
WATCH: Univision, Facebook.com in US | MLS LIVE in Canada
Has the darkness finally ended in Dallas? We may get to answer that question when they visit Orlando City SC on Saturday afternoon in a match that will go a long way towards deciding if they make the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Oscar Pareja's team finally broke their 10-game winless streak on Wednesday night, beating the Colorado Rapids 2-0 at Toyota Stadium. The win brought them back above the playoff line on 41 points, one point above the Houston Dynamo. The result, paired with San Jose's 4-1 loss, also brought their probability of making the playoffs back up to 61 percent from 42 percent.
Orlando's playoff hopes have been mostly extinguished for some time, but they will have some confidence at home on Saturday. They dominated the New England Revolution on Wednesday night, thanks to an 11th minute Xavier Kouassi red card, to the tune of 6-1. Kaká returned to the starting XI for the first time since Sept. 2, scoring two goals in the win.
Orlando City SC
- Suspended: M Will Johnson (READ)
- Suspended after next caution: D Leo Pereira, M Will Johnson
- Int’l Duty: None
- Injury Report: OUT - GK Josh Saunders (neck injury), M Cristian Higuita (calf injury)
Projected Starting XI
(4-3-1-2, left to right)
GK: Joe Bendik — Donny Toia, Jonathan Spector, Leo Pereira, Scott Sutter — Yoshi Yotun, Servando Carrasco, Antonio Nocerino — Giles Barnes — Kaká, Dom Dwyer
Notes: Kaká’s brace on Wednesday night was his first multi-goal game of the season and his third multi-goal game for Orlando in MLS action.
FC Dallas
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: M Carlos Gruezo, D Hernan Grana
- Int’l Duty: None
- Injury Report: QUESTIONABLE - M Kellyn Acosta (fatigue)
Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, left to right):
GK: Jesse Gonzalez— Hernan Grana, Atiba Harris, Matt Hedges, Maynor Figueroa — Carlos Gruezo, Kellyn Acosta — Michael Barrios, Mauro Diaz, Roland Lamah — Maxi Urruti
Notes: FC Dallas have lost five consecutive road games, tied for the third-longest regular season streak in franchise history. They have not lost six straight since July 26-Sept. 27, 2003 … Mauro Diaz had two assists on Wednesday night, the ninth time he’s registered multiple assists in a single MLS match (including postseason). It snapped a streak of 27 MLS appearances where he did not have multiple assists, the longest such streak of his MLS career (99 total appearances).
All-Time Series
- Overall: Dallas 2 wins (6 goals) … Orlando 0 wins (0 goals) … Ties 0
- At Orlando: Dallas 1 wins (2 goals) … Orlando 0 wins (0 goals) … Ties 0
Referees
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Jason White
Fourth Official: Juan Guzman
Video Assistant Referee (VAR): Sorin Stoica
