Austin FC returns from an 11-day break to host rivals FC Dallas on Wednesday night for a crucial Copa Tejas clash. The match is set for an 8:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Q2 Stadium.
Tune-In
Fans can watch the match in English or Spanish in over 100 countries via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
- Stream: Click here to watch the match, or access it through any device compatible with the Apple TV app. An MLS Season Pass subscription is required to watch the match.
- Radio: The match will be broadcast live locally in English on iHeart Radio’s Alt 97.5, and in Spanish on Univision’s TUDN Radio Austin (104.3-HD2, KLQB-FM).
Austin FC Outlook
After a stretch in which the Verde & Black played 10 games in 36 days through May and early June, the team finally got some time to rest and recover with a brief break between matches. Austin now enters an important week well-rested and with a squad that, for the first time in 2023, is largely devoid of absentees.
Sebastián Driussi, Julio Cascante, and Diego Fagundez are all at full fitness after extended spells on the sidelines, while Owen Wolff and Dani Pereira have both returned from international duty - though Wednesday’s match comes just 72 hours after Pereira played an hour for Venezuela on Sunday.
The Dallas match is the first of two home Copa Tejas fixtures for Austin this week, with Houston coming to town on June 24. A pair of victories would see Austin take over top spot in the Copa Tejas standings and ensure that Josh Wolff’s side would control its own destiny in its final Copa Tejas game of the season (an August 26 visit to Dallas).
With anything less than six points from the next two matches, the Verde & Black’s route to defending the Copa Tejas crown they won in 2022 would become more complicated.
FC Dallas Outlook
Dallas lost only once in league play between April 1 and May 17 but have since cooled off, with one win in their last six games (two draws, three losses). The points it picked up early in the season provided enough of a cushion that the North Texas side finds itself in fifth place in the Western Conference.
Wednesday’s match offers a chance for Austin to avenge a 1-0 defeat to Dallas at Q2 Stadium earlier this season. Jesus Ferreira, who scored the late winner in a close contest that day, won’t be available this time around after being called up to represent the U.S. at the Concacaf Gold Cup.
Ferreira’s absence means other players will have to step up to shoulder the scoring load. While he leads the team with 10 goals, no other Dallas player has more than two. Contributions from talented attackers Paul Arriola, Alan Velasco, and Jader Obrian will be vital to the team’s success while Ferreira is away on international duty.
Possible Dallas Lineup
(4-4-2, R-L) - GK: Maarten Paes; Geovane, Sebastien Ibeagha, Nkosi Tafari, Marco Farfan; Alan Velasco, Facundo Quignon, Edwin Cerrillo, Jader Obrian; Jesus Jimenez, Jose Mulato
