St. Louis CITY SC returns to CITYPARK this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. CT for a midweek matchup with FC Dallas. The match will be streamed free on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app and can be heard by our radio partners on KYKY Y98.1 FM (English) and KXOK 102.9 FM (Spanish).
St. Louis CITY SC fell 2-1 in a hard-fought contest against Orlando City SC in their last match. After a goalless first half, Facundo Torres gave the hosts the lead three minutes into the second half before Rasmus Alm found the equalizer for CITY SC. With time dwindling, Orlando was awarded a penalty which was converted by Torres to give the hosts the victory.
Despite the result against Orlando, CITY SC remains atop of the MLS Western Conference with 44 points, four ahead of LAFC.
With the goal against Orlando, CITY SC became the fastest-ever expansion team to 50 goals (25 games) in their first year, eclipsing Chicago Fire (1998), Atlanta United (2017) and LAFC (2018) who all scored their 50th goal in their 26th match. Only those three expansion teams in league history have scored 50-plus goals in their first year. St. Louis also became the first team in MLS this season to record 50 goals, which was followed later in the matchday by Columbus Crew following their 2-0 win over Toronto.
Joakim Nilsson made his first start for CITY SC against Orlando following a 14-month long spell on the sideline. The defender played 65 minutes and led the match in tackles won (3) and successful interceptions (2). The Swedish international was second on the team in duels won (5) and possessions won (5), trailing only Eduard Löwen in both categories.
Anthony Markanich, who was acquired this summer from Colorado Rapids, also made his debut for CITY SC against Orlando. The defender came on in the 72nd minute and straightaway had an impact on the game. After winning the ball back on the left side, Markanich provided the assist on Alm’s equalizer, the first assist of his MLS career.
CITY SC striker João Klauss made his first appearance since his injury against Colorado Rapids on April 22. The Designated Player started the season on fire, recording nine goal contributions (5 goals, 4 assists) in 10 games. The forward scored the game-winner in CITY SC’s inaugural match against Austin FC on February 25 and scored against Charlotte FC, San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake (2).
St. Louis owns a 9-3-1 record in home matches and have scored at least 3 goals in eight of their nine home wins this season in MLS (3-1 vs Charlotte, 3-0 vs San Jose, 5-1 vs FC Cincinnati, 4-0 vs Sporting KC, 3-1 vs Vancouver Whitecaps, 3-0 vs Houston Dynamo, 3-0 vs Inter Miami, 6-3 vs Austin FC).
Offensively, St. Louis has tallied 35 goals in 13 matches at CITYPARK in MLS. Niko Gioacchini leads the team in goals scored at home with eight (8), while Löwen leads the team with five (5) assists at home. CITY SC goalkeeper Roman Bürki has recorded five clean sheets at home, which is tied for eighth in MLS this season, four behind Seattle's Stefan Frei. CITY SC's captain has made 45 saves at home in MLS play, leading the league in that category.
On the defensive side of the ball, CITY SC has allowed 13 goals at home in MLS and has trailed just 100 of 1170 minutes in MLS play. CITY SC has nine home wins in MLS this season. Excluding the shootout era, Atlanta leads expansion teams with 11 home wins. Charlotte and Montreal are tied for second with 10 home wins.
The match will mark the second time the two clubs have met after FC Dallas were victorious at home back in June. The two teams originally met in May, but the match was postponed due to inclement weather conditions. When the match was resumed, FC Dallas scored two unanswered goals through Jesús Ferreira and Marco Farfan.
FC Dallas currently sits in 8th place in the Western Conference standings with 33 points, boasting a 9-9-6 record. FC Dallas enters the match following a 1-0 win at home against Austin FC through late heroics from Nkosi Tafari, who found the back of the net in stoppage time. FC Dallas are 2-6-4 on the road this season, scoring nine goals in the process. Jesús Ferreira leads Dallas in goals with 10. FC Dallas has won seven of the eight MLS matches in which Ferreira scored this season (7-1-0 record). Dallas has just one win in 15 league matches when Ferreira doesn't score or doesn’t play (1-8-6 record) this year.
FC Dallas is 7-2-1 across their last ten matches against expansion teams, most recently beating CITY SC 2-0 when the teams met earlier this season. In away matches during this span, FC Dallas is 2-1-0.
