Seeking to snap their run of five consecutive games without a win across all competitions, Seattle Sounders visit the Toyota Stadium to face Dallas on Saturday night.
The Bulls head into the weekend unbeaten in each of their last four home games against Brian Schmetzer's men, claiming two wins and two draws since a 1-0 defeat in August 2021, and will be looking to extend this fine run.
Match preview
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Dallas turned in a resilient team display last Sunday when they fought back from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Miguel Almiron maintained his fine form in front of goal as he converted his 17th-minute penalty to put Atlanta United in front but 27-year-old forward Petar Musa struck on the hour mark to force a share of the spoils.
Before that, Dallas snapped their run of two consecutive defeats on March 23, when they edged out Real Salt Lake 1-0 at the Rio Tinto Stadium, one week before fighting back from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City.
Eric Quill's side have picked up three wins and two draws from their opening seven matches to collect 11 points and sit sixth in the Western Conference standings, level on points with Portland Timbers and Colorado Rapids.
While Dallas will be looking to return to winning ways this weekend, next up is the stern challenge of taking on a Seattle Sounders side who are unbeaten in 12 of their last 14 meetings, claiming seven wins and five draws since June 2019.
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On the other hand, Seattle Sounders failed to find their feet last time out as they suffered a 3-0 thrashing against San Diego FC when the sides squared off at the Snapdragon Stadium.
Jappe Tverskov, Anibal Godoy and experienced forward Hirving Lozano all found the back of the net in the first half to cap off a dominant team display and send San Diego into second place in the Eastern Conference table.
With that result, Seattle Sounders have gone five back-to-back games without a win across all competitions, claiming two draws and losing three, including a 4-1 defeat against Mexican outfit Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions Cup on March 12.
This poor run of form has been owing to their lack of sting up top, where Schmetzer's men have scored just two goals in their most recent five matches while shipping nine goals at the defensive end of the pitch.
Off the back of reaching the 2024 Western Conference final, where they fell to a 1-0 loss against LA Galaxy, Seattle have managed just one win from their opening seven league matches this term while losing three and claiming three draws to collect six points and sit 12th in the East.
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Team News
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Dallas will take to the pitch without the services of American midfielder Paxton Pomykal, who continues his long road to full fitness after sustaining a knee injury in March 2024.
Twenty-three-year-old defender Geovane Jesus also continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury while Marco Farfan is set to sit out his second straight game through a leg problem.
Musa has been on song for Dallas this season and the Croatian striker, who has been involved in six of the Bulls' 10 league goals, will be one to keep an eye on this weekend.
As for Seattle Sounders, experienced forward Paul Arriola has missed each of the last four matches through a knee injury and the 30-year-old is ruled out of the trip to the Toyota Stadium.
He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow attacker Jordan Morris, who has been sidelined since coming off with a hamstring problem against Cruz Azul on March 12.
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Moore, Ibeagha, Urhoghide, Norris; Lletget, Ramiro; Chu, Acosta, Delgado; Musa
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; Gomez, Ragen, Tolo; Roldan, Vargas, Roldan, Rothrock; Ferreira, Minoungou, Rusnak
We say: Dallas 2-1 Seattle Sounders
While it has been a difficult few weeks for Seattle Sounders, Dallas appear to have hit their stride of late and will be backing themselves to come away with something this weekend. Home advantage gives the Bulls an extra edge here and we fancy them to come out on top, albeit by the odd goal.
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Joshua Ojele
