FC Dallas vs. Minnesota United Betting Preview – MLS, August 29, 2020

Sporting Kansas City is the early frontrunner in the Western Conference, but Minnesota United will aiming to keep pace with the Wizards by securing a positive result against struggling FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium on Saturday, August 29.

The Toros find themselves second from bottom in the standings after only managing to win one of their five games in 2020, although a win for Dallas could see the club move into mid-table.

Read on to see my FC Dallas vs. Minnesota United prediction and betting pick.

Minnesota currently sits five points ahead of Dallas in the Western Conference, but that hasn’t stopped the best online soccer betting sites from making Dallas the favorite to win this matchup. The Toros have the home advantage, but with a lack of supporters in the stadium, I don’t think Minnesota will be too concerned about playing away.

Let’s take a closer look at both sides.

Dallas’ first and only victory of 2020 came all the way back on the opening day of the season in February. Of course, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. Luchi Gonzalez’s side was forced to withdraw from the MLS is Back Tournament, while one defeat and a couple of goalless draws in August have done very little to help Dallas’ cause.

In fact, the Toros have failed to hit the back of the net since returning to regular-season action. The team may have conceded just one goal during that time, but the severe lack of attacking firepower will worry Gonzalez. Zdenek Ondrasek scored two goals in two games before the campaign was suspended. However, the Czech forward has failed to add to his tally this side of the lay-off.

By contrast, the Loons are one of the highest scorers in the division. Minnesota has netted 13 goals across six Western Conference outings and has only suffered one defeat along the way. After notching up two big wins over Portland Timbers (3-1) and San Jose Earthquakes (5-2) before the season was put on hold, Adrian Heath’s men made it all the way to semi-finals of the MLS is Back Tournament.

Minnesota resumed the regular season with a narrow defeat to Sporting Kansas City, although Heath’s side dominated large spells of that game. Considering the Wizards are the runaway leaders in the division, I don’t think the Loons will be overly disappointed with their previous result.

I’m going against the bookies here. Minnesota has been miles better than Dallas this year, so I’m struggling to get my head around the odds for this game. Even if the Toros were to win on Saturday, they would still be two points behind the Loons, and that underlines the gulf in quality between these two teams at the moment.