Houston Dynamo vs. FC Dallas | MLS Match Preview

MLSsoccer staff

HOUSTON DYNAMO vs. FC DALLAS
BBVA COMPASS STADIUM, Houston, Texas
May 1, 2015 (Week 9, MLS Game #77)
8 pm ET (UDN)

It’s the first meeting for El Capitán this season as the Texas Derby kicks off when the Houston Dynamo play host to FC Dallas on Viernes de Fútbol at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo made it three games in a row without loss last time out, ending in a wild 4-4 draw with Sporting Kansas City on their home ground. FC Dallas gained points from a second consecutive match to start this road swing, reaching a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids.

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REFEREE: Jair Marrufo. AR1 (bench): Corey Rockwell; AR2 (opposite): Felisha Mariscal; 4th: Nima Saghafi
Marrufo MLS Career: 179 games; FC/gm: 23.4; Y/gm: 2.8; R: 34; pens: 52

SUSPENDED: DAL: Blas Perez (through May 3)
WARNINGS: SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: HOU: Kofi Sarkodie, Ricardo Clark … DAL: Atiba Harris

DISABLED LIST: none

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (21 meetings): Dynamo 9 wins, 31 goals … FC Dallas 5 wins, 26 goals … Ties 7
AT HOUSTON (11 meetings): Dynamo 6 wins, 18 goals … FC Dallas 2 wins, 16 goals … Ties 3
RETURN MATCHES: 6/26: FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo, 8 p.m. CT (UniMas); 10/4: FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo, 4 p.m. CT (ESPN2)

Brad Davis recorded a pair of assists – and is now third all-time in assists in MLS with 115 for his league career – as the Dynamo reached a 4-4 draw with Sporting Kansas City on Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. It was the 22nd multiple-assist game of his MLS career, now fourth on the all-time list.
Mauro Diaz netted his first goal of the season as FC Dallas kept pace with a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids on the road.
FC Dallas have won the last two meetings between the teams over the last two seasons, winning 4-1 on April 5 of last year at BBVA Compass Stadium. It was just the second win all-time for FCD in Houston in 13 meetings in all competitions, the first since 2010.
The clubs play for “El Capitán”, the 19th-century mountain howitzer to be awarded to the winner of the regular-season series by supporters groups for both clubs. This will be first year since 2011 the series will include more than one meeting during the regular season, with both clubs now in the Western Conference.