Dallas will look to end a four-game winless slide on Saturday when they play host to Minnesota United at Toyota Stadium.
The Toros dropped a 3-0 decision to the Colorado Rapids before the international break, while the Loons salvaged a point with a late goal in their previous match that ended in a 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake.
Match preview
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The month of May began promisingly for Luchi Gonzalez and his team with a 4-1 win over the Portland Timbers, but since then, the season has quickly deteriorated, as they have lost two of their last three games, including a 1-0 defeat at Minnesota.
With three of their next four games at home, Gonzalez knows this is a prime opportunity for his team to make up some ground in the Western Conference standings.
They have been a lot livelier and created many more scoring opportunities on their home soil at Toyota Stadium, firing 29 shots in a 2-2 draw with Real Salt Lake, yet they had the game in their hands until conceding in the 86th minute.
They may be dead last in the table right now, but they are far from out of the playoff race, as they are only three points behind the Portland Timbers for the last post-season berth, although there are five other teams not including the Timbers, also in the hunt.
Toyota Stadium will be operating at full capacity for the first time all season, and the Toros will hope that energy and enthusiasm can keep them undefeated at home in this campaign as they look to climb out of the Western Conference cellar.
Minnesota dug themselves a deep hole to start the regular season, losing their opening four matches, but since then, they have started to play up to their potential, and are currently riding a three-match unbeaten streak.
They appear to be going in the right direction, but they still have plenty of work to do to get out of their current predicament that has them sitting in 12th in the Western Conference, just one point above Dallas.
Offensively, Adrian Heath has seen his side struggle to fill the void left by striker Kevin Molino, who scored 13 goals for this club last season before joining the defending MLS Cup champions, the Columbus Crew.
The Loons have developed a knack for the dramatics, scoring four of their six goals with less than 20 minutes to play in their matches.
If you take away their 4-0 defeat in their opening fixture to the Seattle Sounders, you will see that this side have been able to hang around in every game but have lacked that individual quality in front of goal in the early portion of this campaign.
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Team News
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There is some good news for Dallas heading back into action following the international break, as striker Jesus Ferreira returned to first-team training and could be available after missing with a shoulder injury.
Midfielder Thomas Roberts is still recovering from a leg injury, while reserve keeper Kyle Zobeck has a hamstring injury.
Brandon Servania and Justin Che are back from their European loan spells, which comes at a good time for the club.
Striker Szabolcs Schon is on international duty for Hungary, and he nearly caused a massive upset in their opening game, scoring in the 77th minute against Portugal only to have it ruled out for offside as the Hungarians went on to lose 3-0.
Adrian Heath made a bold move, replacing starting goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair with Tyler Miller, and the change has paid off, with the 28-year-old going unbeaten in his three starts, making 12 saves and picking up two clean sheets.
The Loons will have to make do without a few key players, as leading goalscorer Robin Lod, plus midfielder Jan Gregus and defender Jukka Raitala are all representing Finland at the Euros.
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Maurer; Hollingshead, Martinez, Bressan, Nelson; Acosta, Tessmann; Servania, Obrian; Jara; Ferreira
Minnesota United possible starting lineup:
Miller; Gasper, Dibassy, Boxall, Metanire; Trapp; Dotson, Hayes, Hansen, Abila; Hunou
We say: Dallas 2-0 Minnesota United
The Toros have some key players who could be ready to return, while the Loons are missing their leading goalscorer and one of their best playmakers because of the Euros.
Dallas have been heading on a downward trajectory, but they are facing a Minnesota side that have struggled all season to score goals, and that was with Lod and Gregus in the fold.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
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 54.09%. A win for Minnesota United had a probability of 23.73% and a draw had a probability of 22.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dallas win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.76%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.44%) and 2-0 (8.11%). The likeliest Minnesota United win was 1-2 (6.12%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.16%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.2% likelihood.
