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Three Questions about FC Dallas

Big D Soccer graciously answered a few questions for us about RBNY's next opponent.

By Austin Fido and Drew Epperley
Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

FC Dallas visits Red Bulls Arena tonight, but what makes the current best team in MLS tick? Big D Soccer's Drew Epperley answered a few questions to help us try to figure out an answer to that question.

OaM: What is the secret to FCD's success so far this year?

I would say the biggest thing that has happened is just the chemistry that this group has. A lot of key players remained from last year's bunch that nearly went to a MLS Cup. Oscar Pareja and Fernando Clavijo worked well in the offseason to get good pieces in place to go with that group. Adding guys like Maxi Urruti and Carlos Gruezo were very intelligent moves that complimented the team on the field and off. Also adding in veteran players like Mauro Rosales from Vancouver helped add to that chemistry as well.

OaM: Dallas has only lost twice so far this season, but both those losses were blow-outs: downed 5-0 in Houston in March and 3-0 in Vancouver last week. What happened?

You could say injuries had a part in both games but I still point to the overall maturity of this team. At the core, they are still a very young team that can be prone to mental mistakes like we saw in Houston back at the start of the season and then just unlucky at times like what we saw against Vancouver last weekend. Pareja still has some work to do with this bunch to make sure they don't get too complacent with their position in the standings.

OaM: The Red Bulls have lost six out of eight games; FCD has lost just two of nine. Is there anything about us that worries you at all?

Personally, I worry about the desperate nature of the Red Bulls right now. Vancouver was a team that was very desperate last weekend and were able to pull out a result. New York looks like a team that has struggled to recapture their swagger from last season. Getting that result last weekend against Orlando certainly helped a bit as they now have some momentum at home to build on.

Aside from that, I do think Dallas' set piece defending is still a major issue that hasn't been corrected enough that New York could expose on Friday night. FCD has given up a number of bad goals this season off set pieces. With New York starting to click a little bit in their attack, this seems like a dangerous game for them to be in.

Projected Lineup:

Chris Seitz, Maynor Figueroa, Zach Loyd, Walker Zimmerman, Ryan Hollingshead, Carlos Gruezo, Victor Ulloa, Fabian Castillo, Mauro Diaz, Michael Barrios, Maximiliano Urruti

Thanks for stopping by, Drew. To see what questions OaM was asked and answered, check out Big D Soccer.

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