There’s MLS action at the Toyota Stadium this week, with FC Dallas targeting an overdue home victory against Minnesota United.
It hasn’t been a great season for the Texans who are one of the bottom five teams in the Western Conference. They’ve been leaking far too many goals with 35 conceded in 19 matches so far, and head into this game after back-to-back home defeats against San Jose and San Diego.
From a neutral perspective, they have been a pretty good watch of late though. All of their last three matches have seen both teams score at least twice, and there’s enough firepower in their team to suggest better things may be around the corner if they can sort their issues out at the back.
Minnesota are also scoring and conceding plenty, but their results have been better, with only one defeat in seven matches for Eric Ramsay’s side heading into this. They are currently third in the Western Conference and in really good shape to make the play-offs.
How the bookies view it: Visitors the slight favourites
BoyleSports make Minnesota United the slight favourites for this game at 13/10. That’s largely a reflection of the poor run that Dallas are on, but you can back the hosts to get back on track with a victory at 6/4. The draw is priced at 5/2.
Recent head-to-head: A mixed picture
Five of the last six meetings between these teams have served up two or fewer goals, including a 0-0 draw when they last met in April. However, the last meeting in Texas was an eight-goal thriller, with Dallas winning 5-3, so punters may struggle to draw any clear trends from the recent history of this fixture.
Players to watch: Yeboah to punish poor Dallas defence
The visitors will be looking to forward Kelvin Yeboah to do the damage up top. He has scored in two of his last three matches to take his MLS season tally to six goals and you can back the Italian to score anytime at 5/4 with BoyleSports.
Predicted Lineups
FC Dallas are expected to be missing four players for this game, with Enzo Newman, Geovane Jesus, Osaze Urhoghide and Paxton Pomykal all out injured.
As for Minnesota United, they have an injury doubt over top scorer Tani Oluwaseyi. They are also set to be without Hassani Dotson and Joseph Rosales due to fitness issues.
FC Dallas: Paes, Farfan, Ibeagha, Abubakar, Moore, Lletget, Kaick, Delgado, Acosta, Pedrinho, Musa.
Minnesota United: St. Clair, Markanich, Boxall, Romero, Diaz, Gressel, Lod, Trapp, Pereyra, Hlongwane, Yeboah.
Anything else catch the eye?
With the goals flowing in the matches of both of these teams in recent weeks, backing there to be over 3.5 goals looks really good at 6/4 with BoyleSports. That bet has landed in all of the last three Dallas fixtures and all of the last four Minnesota United matches.
The away team’s much superior form, combined with a record of just one win in nine at home for Dallas this season, also suggests backing Draw no bet – Minnesota to win at 4/5 may be worth considering.
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