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FC Dallas
Major League Soccer
Mar 13, 2022 at 1.30am UK
Pizza Hut Park
Nashville

Dallas
2 - 0
Nashville

Jara (85' pen.), Velasco (87')
Pomykal (25'), Antonio Martinez (33'), Cerrillo (90+6')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Sapong (28'), Leal (40'), Muyl (62'), Godoy (82')

Preview: Dallas vs. Nashville SC - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Major League Soccer clash between Dallas and Nashville SC, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Two sides who have experienced opposite fortunes in their respective starts to the MLS season will do battle on Saturday when Dallas welcome Nashville SC to the Toyota Stadium.

The hosts are still searching for their first win of the season, while the Coyotes have collected four points from their two opening matches.


Match preview

FC Dallas head coach Nico Estevez reacts during the second half against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on March 5, 2022© Reuters

Dallas opened their campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Toronto FC before they travelled to the Gillette Stadium for a meeting with New England Revolution.

It transpired to be a fruitless trip as a Carles Gil strike in first-half stoppage time proved to be enough to condemn the Burn to a 1-0 defeat.

With just one point to their name from their opening two matches, Estevez is still searching for his first win as Dallas boss.

However, the new head coach was fully aware that this would not be a quick fix after Dallas finished 11th in the Western Conference last season.

Last term, the Burn had to wait until the third game for their first victory of the season and Saturday's hosts will hope that it is third time lucky once again as they look to avoid a winless three-game start to the campaign.

Nashville SC players celebrate a first half goal by forward C.J. Sapong (17) against Minnesota United at Allianz Field on March 6, 2022© Reuters

The visitors, meanwhile, will be aiming to continue their unbeaten start to the season after collecting four points from their opening two games.

Gary Smith's side got off to the perfect start thanks to a 1-0 away win over Seattle Sounders before they travelled to Minnesota for another away contest last weekend.

Nashville hit the front within five minutes courtesy of C.J. Sapong's opener, but the visitors were denied three points, when Hassani Dotson equalised in the second half.

With their new stadium not opening until May 1, the Coyotes still have to negotiate a further six consecutive away games in what promises to be a difficult opening couple of months to the season.

The visitors can take confidence from the fact that their only previous two trips to the Toyota Stadium resulted in a win and a draw, and they will be hoping to avoid defeat once again on Saturday.

Dallas Major League Soccer form:
  • D
  • L

Nashville SC Major League Soccer form:
  • W
  • D



Team News

FC Dallas midfielder Jader Obrian (8) and forward Jesus Ferreira (10) and forward Paul Arriola (7) celebrates scoring a goal against Toronto FC during the first half of their MLS match at Toyota Stadium on February 26, 2022© Reuters

The hosts will be without the services of Nicky Hernandez, who is set to miss out through injury.

Franco Jara missed the opening two matches, but he is recovering well from injury and could be included in the squad for Saturday's contest.

Estevez has named the same starting lineup for the opening two games, and he is expected to opt for an unchanged team for the third game in a row.

Like their opponents, Nashville could also pick the same starting XI for the third consecutive match.

Walker Zimmerman - who will face his former club at the weekend - will once again partner David Romney in the centre of defence and after conceding just one goal in their opening two games, they will be confident that they can restrict Dallas on Saturday.

Sapong and Hany Mukhtar scored 28 goals between them last season, and the pair will offer Nashville's main goal threat at the Toyota Stadium.

Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Twumasi, Hedges, Martinez, Farfan; Servania, Cerrillo, Pomykal; Arriola, Obrian, Ferreira

Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Miller, Zimmerman, Romney, Lovitz; Davis, McCarty, Godoy, Leal; Mukhtar, Sapong


SM words green background

We say: Dallas 1-2 Nashville SC

All four previous meetings between the two sides took place in 2020, with Nashville winning two of those encounters, and we think that the visitors have that little bit of extra quality that will make all the difference on Saturday.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



ID:480391:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect8305:
Written by
Ben Sully

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 Dallas win with a probability of 41.97%. A win for Nashville SC had a probability of 30.51% and a draw had a probability of 27.5%.

The most likely scoreline for a Dallas win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.07%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.5%) and 2-0 (7.91%). The likeliest Nashville SC win was 0-1 (9.89%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.96%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 7.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Dallas would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Dallas vs Nashville

Dallas
10.0%
Draw
20.0%
Nashville SC
70.0%
10
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New York City forward Talles Magno (43), center, is congratulated after scoring his second goal of the game in the second half against Santos de Guapiles at Banc of California Stadium on February 24, 2022
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Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami34228479493074
2Columbus Crew34199672403266
3FC CincinnatiCincinnati341851158481059
4Orlando City34157125950952
5Charlotte FCCharlotte FC34149114637951
6New York City FCNY City34148125449550
7New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls34111495550547
8CF MontrealMontreal341110134864-1643
9Atlanta UnitedAtlanta341010144649-340
10DC United341010145270-1840
11Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia34910156255737
12Toronto34114194061-2137
13Nashville SCNashville3499163854-1636
14New England RevolutionNew England3494213774-3731
15Chicago Fire3479184062-2230

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Los Angeles FCLos Angeles34197863432064
2Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy34197869501964
3Real Salt LakeSalt Lake341611765481759
4Seattle SoundersSeattle34169951351657
5Houston DynamoHouston34159104739854
6Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd34157125849952
7Colorado RapidsColorado34155146160150
8Portland TimbersPortland341211116556947
9Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver34138135249347
10Austin FCAustin34119143948-942
11Dallas34118155456-241
12St Louis City34813135063-1337
13Sporting Kansas CityKansas3487195166-1531
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes3463254178-3721


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