By Alonso Contreras
FC Dallas arrives with its best option in attack, Jesus Ferreira, who leads the MLS scoring charts (9 goals), but the Dallas team has lost its last two games against Vancouver and Minnesota by the same score 1-2 against both teams. On the other hand, Orlando arrives with a big problem in the defensive zone, without Antonio Carlos who is still on the injured list but was seen training separately from the group but doing work with the ball and running, Rodrigo was sent off last game against Austin FC, which will not be in Saturday's game and Cesar Araujo (the best defensive midfielder in the league) also saw the red card in the last game. Coach Oscar Pareja will have a difficult task at center back as everything indicates that it will be the duo of veteran Robin and young Williams. Who will be the central defender that will be promoted from the second team? an unknown for the club's fans.
Orlando City is playing very well, Facundo Torres continues to be the protagonist and the most dangerous player of the team, running all over the field, creating and leading dangerous plays. Pato is at a good level lately, assisting goals, and being the player who puts the pause in the team. Captain Mauricio Pereyra (who scored the decisive penalty to advance to the next round of the U.S. Open Cup) is creating many scoring opportunities and finding his best partner Facundo Torres in every play. Pedro Gallese provides a lot of security in goal, from his great saves to his way of supporting the defense by playing with his feet.
Another issue will also be the refereeing, which has not been up to the level of a professional league, where they have received harsh criticism from different teams throughout the season.
In the last conference, Orlando City's coach was seen to be very upset with the result, as the second goal, the equalizer, came from a corner kick that never existed.
We hope it will be a good game and that Orlando City gets the win that will give them peace of mind before the two weeks they will have off for the league due to FIFA.
