LAFC vs. FC Dallas
Saturday, June 1 at 7:30pm PT
Location: BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, CA 🏟
TV: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass 🖥
Radio: 710 AM ESPN 📻, ESPN LA App 📱, KFWB 980 AM La Mera Mera 📻
Events: LAFC Fan Fest (3:30-7pm) 🎪 | Level Up arcade (5:30-7:30pm & 10-11:30pm) 🕹 | Post-game fireworks (9:30-10pm) 🎆
Coming off a 2-0 home win over Minnesota United, LAFC welcomes FC Dallas to Los Angeles on Saturday for another key Western Conference clash at BMO Stadium.
Goals from Denis Bouanga and Mateusz Bogusz propelled LAFC to its fourth straight MLS win on Saturday – and its sixth straight in all competitions – as the Black & Gold extended its streak of shutout minutes in all competitions to 484 minutes and counting.
LAFC (8W-4L-3D in MLS play, third in the Western Conference) will look to add to the club record it set on Saturday by holding opponents scoreless over 391 consecutive minutes of MLS action.
FC Dallas (3W-7L-4D, 12th in the Western Conference) has yet to win on the road this season, managing five losses and two draws away from home. Dallas fell 3-1 to the Galaxy in Carson, Calif., on Wednesday, and remained in Southern California this week in advance of the LAFC match. Ecuadorian midfielder Patrickson Delgado scored his second MLS goal of the season versus the Galaxy, and his second in the last two games.
Dallas in-depth
Star forward Jesús Ferreira has struggled with injuries this season, starting just four games and making eight total appearances in the MLS regular season. Last weekend, playing without Ferreira, Dallas led conference leaders Real Salt Lake 3-0 after 60 minutes of play, before RSL stormed back to earn a 3-3 draw. Ferreira played the final 23 minutes of Dallas’ mid-week loss to the Galaxy.
Dallas owns a goal differential of minus-6 in MLS play in 2024, scoring 17 goals and conceding 23 in 14 games. (LAFC’s goal differential is plus-8 [27 goals scored and 19 conceded in 15 MLS games].)
Dallas center back Sebastien Ibeagha is an important part of LAFC’s history. Ibeagha started and played all 120 minutes of LAFC’s MLS Cup final victory over Philadelphia on Nov. 5, 2022 – one of just seven LAFC players who went the distance that day. Ibeagha made 30 total regular-season appearances for LAFC in 2021 and 2022.
Outside back Marco Farfan (six starts in 2024) made 29 appearances for LAFC in 2021 before he was traded to Dallas for current LAFC defender and 2023 MLS All Star Ryan Hollingshead.
Last week, FC Dallas earned a spot in the Quarterfinal Round of the U.S. Open Cup tournament, defeating the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the USL Championship, 2-1, to secure a place alongside LAFC as one of the Open Cup’s eight remaining contenders.
LAFC owns a record of 5W-3L-2D against FC Dallas, all-time. Forward Denis Bouanga (nine goals, five assists this year) scored the game-winner the last time Dallas visited BMO Stadium, a 2-1 victory in March 2023 that Bouanga entered as a sub after arriving from Africa just before the match following an international appearance for Gabon.
The Black & Gold Can Win If:
It doesn’t attempt to fix what isn’t broken. Rarely in the Black & Gold’s six-and-a-half-year history has the team played more cohesively and with greater focus, particularly at home – and especially in its defending. LAFC has not conceded a goal at BMO Stadium since April 27 and has allowed just six goals at home all year (nine matches, all competitions).
Overall, LAFC has lost just once in its last nine outings, including U.S. Open Cup competition. With a confident goalie, a rock-solid rotation of defenders, an industrious midfield (led by USMNT call-up Timmy Tillman), and a havoc-wreaking front three of Denis Bouanga, Mateusz Bogusz, and Cristian Olivera, the recipe for success has been written; Steve Cherundolo’s side just needs to keep cooking.
Dallas Can Win If:
It displays the form and opportunism it showed in the opening 60 minutes against RSL last weekend. Still looking for its first road win of 2024, Dallas appeared to have earned it in Utah before RSL turned a 0-3 deficit to a 3-3 draw. Dallas equalized on the Galaxy’s home pitch, 1-1, before conceding two late ones; and the club drew with a sturdy Dynamo side in Houston on May 18. Nico Estévez’s side is capable of winning away from home, and although it has never done so at BMO Stadium (Dallas is 0W-4L-1D in LA, all time), the danger remains, especially with a healthy Ferreira.
