I don’t know if MLS soccer is any type of ‘Independence Day tradition’ in the making or anything but there are two games on the board for the 4th of July. In the best of the two contests, FC Dallas will host DC United at Toyota Stadium. FC Dallas has a tenuous grasp on the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They are in seventh place tied with sixth place Real Salt Lake in the points column with 26. They have a one point advantage over 8th place San Jose and then it’s five points back to ninth place Portland.
DC United is in second place in the Eastern Conference four points back of first place Philadelphia and one point ahead of third place Montreal. They’ve also got to be concerned about Atlanta and New York City in fourth and fifth place just two points back. DC United has a fair to middling road record at 3-3-2 where they’ve scored 8 and conceded 7. Their recent form away has been a bit problematic as they’re 0-2-1 in their last three road games scoring two and conceding three. Both teams enter this contest in identical L3 form at 1-1-1.
Dallas has a really nasty home/road disparity. They have lost only once at Toyota Stadium going 5-4-1. On the road, they’re 2-1-6. They’ve lost only once in their last five overall, a 1-0 setback against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. DC United enters on a five match unbeaten streak with four draws and one victory (1-0 over Orlando at home). DC United won 1-0 at home last year in the last meeting between the teams.
With all due respect to the FC Dallas home form it looks like DC United is the better team in this matchup. They should be able to at least salvage a point so we’ll play them on the handicap. We’ll also play both teams to score.
