Frisco – The Philadelphia Union head to Toyota Stadium on Saturday night, currently riding the momentum of a franchise best start to an MLS season ever and a unbeaten streak.
However, for Philadelphia—just like Atlanta—they have never beaten FC Dallas in Frisco in any competition. Their only “win” came in the 2014 U.S. Open Cup, when Philadelphia drew Dallas 1-1 but won the penalty shootout 4-3.
Outside of that, in league play, you have to go all the way back to 2014 when the Union drew Dallas 1-1 in a May 12 match. If you want to dive deeper into the numbers, the Union have not scored a goal in league competition at Dallas since April 2014.
That said, a new year brings new opportunities, and that’s exactly what the Union have in front of them on Saturday. The same is true for first-year FC Dallas head coach Eric Quill, who arrived in the off season from USL Championship side New Mexico United. He previously spent significant time in the Dallas system before his stint in New Mexico.
With a new coach comes new ideas and different sequences. Dallas has some real weapons and tools that can cause problems. They rallied back against Cincinnati and are very strong in transition. Whether or not Julio plays, or if Kamungo is in the lineup, they have real attacking firepower. Musa’s return after missing a couple of games adds even more threat. They seem to be starting to find their rhythm.
Quill’s first season in Dallas hasn’t gone to plan, with the club currently sitting in 23rd place in the Supporters Shield standings with just 17 points and only one win. Still, the team has the talent to compete. Players like Petar Musa and Lucho Acosta can be very dangerous in the attack.
Bradley Carnell said in his presser before the match, “Acosta always is a influential player in and around the box and in and around sort of, yeah, I would say 20 yards from our goal, just floating around, just picking up pieces. And if we don’t do a good job of of making a tight, keeping spaces compact he can have a field day. So yeah, I think it’s going to be a whole team effort again, but they do have some some firepower, for sure.”
Should the Union manage to get another point on the road Saturday, it would be another strong result. Head coach Bradley Carnell gave an update on the squad’s health heading into the match:
“There are still a few hours before kickoff, and final observations will be made tomorrow. Bruno took a quad contusion, but the hope is that he’ll be ready. There are one or two players with question marks, but no one is being ruled out just yet.”
If Bruno can’t go, expect to see Tai and Mikael start up top—unless they are among the players carrying knocks. As of the 5 p.m. Friday availability report, only Neil Pierre and Ian Glavinovich were listed. Final lineup details will come with the official starting eleven.
Interesting note: Several players who featured in the 2024 MLS Next Pro Cup against North Texas return to Toyota Stadium for the first time since that loss. Frankie Westfield, Olwethu Makhanya (who had a red card in the match), Cavan Sullivan, CJ Olney, Andrew Rick, Sal Olivas, and David Vazquez are traveling with the team and some may make the lineup. Bradley Carnell noted that it creates competition and pressure. “While game time may be limited or next to none, there may be opportunities down the road here, it starts with them putting pressure on the guys ahead of them.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST from Frisco, Texas, and the match will be available on Apple TV as part of the MLS Season Pass.
Jillian Almoney contributed to this article.
Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II
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