FC Dallas interim head coach Peter Luccin has urged his players to show their passion on the pitch when they welcome St. Louis City to the Toyota Stadium.

Dallas announced they had parted company with Nico Estevez on June 9 after a run of five matches without a win left them second from bottom in the Western Conference.

Peter Luccin was brought in as his interim replacement, with the Frenchman aiming to make a positive mark in his first game in charge.

"I think it's very important to understand that not everything was bad in the past. I think that we build some foundation," Luccin said.

"I can see the passion in their eyes. They see passion in my eyes, too. So, the passion for that game is a key factor, too. This is what I saw. This is what they see from me.

“To be honest, I will say that maybe it's not the best team to start to play against in my first game, but I'm looking forward to playing against St. Louis because I know that is going to be very demanding."

St. Louis City are just four points above Dallas in 11th after their own five-match winless run.

Head coach Bradley Carnell admitted it was not easy to plan for this game due to the unexpectedness a new opposing manager can create.

"It's a new manager with new tactics, so we don't know what to expect, but we've played some really good games against strong opponents and outshot those opponents," said Carnell.

"We have a process, we have a style, but we need to match the intensity they're going to come at us with. They have something to prove, but so do we."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

FC Dallas – Liam Fraser

After an MLS career that spanned three teams over six seasons, Fraser scored his first goal in his 77th regular-season appearance in Dallas' draw with Minnesota on Saturday.

Only one player this season, Portland's Eric Miller (186 games), scored his first career MLS goal after more regular-season games.

St. Louis City – Chris Durkin

St. Louis City won possession in the attacking third five times in their draw with Portland on Saturday, with Durkin responsible for two of those, the joint-most in the team.

St. Louis have now won possession in the attacking third 102 times this season, 11 more than any other MLS team.

MATCH PREDICTION: FC DALLAS WIN

Dallas and St. Louis split the first three meetings, with each team winning once and drawing once. A total of five goals have been scored over the three games with all of them coming in the 80th minute or later.

Dallas have lost only two of their last 19 home matches in all competitions (W8 D9) dating back to the beginning of the Leagues Cup last July. Those two losses came against Canadian sides (Montreal, Vancouver Whitecaps) as the last U.S.-based team to win in Dallas was D.C. United last July.

St. Louis earned a league-high ninth draw of the season in a scoreless match against Portland on Saturday. They have only four defeats all season, with only seven teams losing fewer matches than City since the club joined MLS last season.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

FC Dallas – 47.6%

Draw – 26.1%

St. Louis City – 26.3%

FC Dallas boss Nico Estevez would have preferred not to face both of the club's Texas rivals in back-to-back home games, but he is keen to follow up their victory over the Houston Dynamo with another against Austin FC.

Dallas overcame Houston 2-0 on their last home outing in MLS, though they were then beaten 3-1 by in-form Toronto FC on their travels last week.

Estevez's team sit 13th in the Western Conference with eight points, some eight adrift of Austin in sixth, but he feels there are things they can replicate from the Houston game in their next derby match. 

"It would be nice for our fans and everyone if the games were a little bit more spread out, right?" he said on Thursday.

"When you have back-to-back, I feel like it is difficult to get that assignment and motivation and everything right, but for us, it is important. 

"Austin uses more of the wings and it's a different type of approach. They defend in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-2, which is similar."

Austin, meanwhile, have won four of their last six MLS games (one draw, one loss) to surge up the standings, leaving boss Josh Wolff encouraged ahead of a busy few weeks. 

"There's no way we can look past one opponent and towards the next," Wolff said. 

"We have to see who comes through Dallas in a good way and see where we're at physically and where the opponent is at physically.

"These guys are fit, they're strong and they're in a good space."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

FC Dallas – Sam Junqua

Junqua has recorded a goal contribution in consecutive matches (one goal, one assist), including scoring Dallas’ lone goal at Toronto last Saturday.

Junqua had only recorded two goal contributions in his previous 35 MLS appearances going back to August 2022.

Austin FC – Brad Stuver

Austin’s goalless draw at Vancouver on Saturday was their third consecutive clean sheet, their longest shutout streak in team history. Stuver started in goal in all three games and will be looking to continue that run against Dallas.

Austin had kept just one clean sheet in their previous 25 matches in all competitions dating back to last July.

MATCH PREDICTION – DALLAS WIN

FC Dallas won each of their first three meetings with Austin FC – all in the 2021 season. Since then, Dallas have managed just two wins in seven against Austin (two draws, three losses), including a 2-1 loss at Q2 Stadium on March 30.

With eight points, Dallas are off to their second-worst 10-match start to a season in club history with only their start in 2009 (six points from 10 matches) being worse. However, seven of their eight points have come in their five home matches.

Meanwhile, Austin have collected 13 points in their last six MLS matches after totalling just 10 points in their previous 16 league matches dating back to their return from the Leagues Cup last August. The form book often goes out of the window on derby day, however, so their positive run could end here. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Dallas – 46.4%

Draw – 28.2%

Austin – 25.4%

Midfielder Paul Arriola says FC Dallas need to start paying their supporters back in Saturday's Texas derby against the Houston Dynamo, having failed to impress in the early stages of the season.

Dallas sit 13th in the Western Conference standings with just five points from eight matches in 2024, their only victory coming against the San Jose Earthquakes in their season opener.

They have only taken two points from seven matches since then, putting head coach Nico Estevez under pressure. 

However, Arriola says a clash with their biggest rivals at Toyota Stadium represents a chance to put things right.

"Our fans have been great all season, we haven't shown up for them. It is motivation for us to go and beat Houston on Saturday and obtain three points," he said. 

Dallas were beaten 2-1 by the Colorado Rapids last time out, leading Estevez to question his players' character. 

"We turned up with fear, lacking in determination and character," the Dallas boss said after that match.

"It is very difficult to play like that because Colorado are one of the hardest working teams in the league on both sides of the ball."

Houston, meanwhile, are preparing for a second straight meeting with a state rival, having suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Austin FC – their third loss of the year – last week.

Star midfielder Hector Herrera made his first appearance of the season from the bench in that match, playing 30 minutes after recovering from a groin injury.

Head coach Ben Olsen said of the Mexican's return: "You can see when he comes on the field, the game changes for the better in some areas.

"Right after he came on, the pressure was turned up on them. We got into so many dangerous spots, but still that connection in the box just wasn't there."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

FC Dallas – Petar Musa

Musa is the only Dallas player with multiple goals to his name in MLS this season, having netted his second goal of 2024 in last week's loss to Colorado. 

Can he provide attacking inspiration for a team with just seven goals in eight games this year? 

Houston Dynamo – Hector Herrera 

While it remains to be seen whether Herrera is ready for a start, he could have a sizeable impact upon his return to action.

Last season, the Mexican led all Houston players for chances created (77), passes into the final third (835) and assists (13) in MLS play.

MATCH PREDICTION – FC DALLAS WIN

Dallas have made their second-worst start to an MLS campaign, only taking fewer than five points by this stage of a season when they earned four in 2009. They did, however, go on to make the playoffs that year.

With home advantage on their side, perhaps things will start to turn on Saturday. The Dynamo haven't won consecutive away MLS matches within a single season for almost 11 years, and they won their last road game 2-1 against Minnesota United.

Dallas tend to turn up for the derby, having gone unbeaten through their last 13 regular-season home matches against Houston (eight wins, five draws) in a run which stretches back to September 2011.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

FC Dallas – 44.6% 

Houston Dynamo – 26.5%

Draw – 28.9%