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About the Teams
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting KC come into this match undefeated at home, off a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids and with relatively few absences due to either injury or national team duty. They are without Graham Zusi and Marcel de Jong due to national team duty and without Seth Sinovic and Jon Kempin due to injury. They brought in Alex Riggs from St. Louis FC on loan who will likely serve as backup keeper to Tim Melia. With no other match until July 12, Peter Vermes can afford to send out a strong lineup without hampering league play.
FC Dallas
After starting off the season hot, FC Dallas has cooled off recently. They just broke a six-game winless streak this past Friday with a win over the Houston Dynamo and current sit sixth in the Western Conference, just behind Sporting KC. They'll be without Blas Perez, Tesho Akindele and Kyle Bekker due to international duty and Rolando Escobar due to injury.
Who to Watch
Sporting Kansas City- Connor Hallisey
With Zusi on international duty, Connor Hallisey will likely get the call to start on the right wing. Out of Nemeth, Dwyer and Hallisey, he is both the least experienced and probably the weakest of the three forwards likely to start. That's not to say he's bad, because he's not. He's shown good potential this season and this game can be a real showcase for him. With two forwards who like to shoot, and with Nemeth likely to tuck in, Hallisey will play a large part in spreading the game out wide and if he is successful then Sporting KC will have a varied attack and a good chance to win.
FC Dallas- Fabian Castillo
Without Blas Perez, the attack for FC Dallas is going to go through Fabian Castillo as a playmaker. The Colombian has six goals and five assists on the year as the point man at the top of the FC Dallas midfield and will likely play a crucial role in trying to break down the Sporting KC back line. It will be interesting to see how Soni Mustivar or whoever is playing the defensive midfield role tries to neutralize him as a playmaker.
Predictions
Lineup
Sporting KC: Melia; Dia, Ellis, Besler, Myers; Mustivar, Espinoza, Feilhaber; Nemeth, Dwyer, Hallisey
FC Dallas: Kennedy; Watson, Hedges, Loyd, Harris; Ulloa, Acosta, Hollingshead, Diaz, Castillo; Texiera