Dallas, TX
FC Dallas vs San Jose Earthquakes – lineup prediction and game info – 3rd Degree
Here we go!! Season 29 of MLS (and season 27 of 3rd Degree’s coverage) kicks off for FC Dallas on Saturday night (7:30 pm) at Toyota Stadium against Luchi Gonzalez and the Earthquakes.
You can catch all our start-of-season content here:
Season Kickoff Podcast
Six factors that will determine FC Dallas’ fate in 2024
Digging into the FC Dallas 3-4-2-1 depth chart for opening day
Final check on the 2024 FC Dallas roster build
The basics of the FC Dallas 3-4-3
Broadcast Info
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Apple TV English: Eric Krakauer and Jalil Anibaba
Apple TV Spanish: Raul Guzman and Carlos Ruiz
English Radio: 1190 am and the FC Dallas App. Owen Newkirk and Steve Davis are on the call. Pregame at 7 pm.
Spanish Radio: FC Dallas app with Carlos Alvarado and Rafa Calderon.
MLS Injury/Player Availability Report
FC Dallas
OUT: Geovane Jesus (right knee)
OUT: Alan Velasco (left knee)
OUT: Marco Farfan (lower back)
OUT: Amet Korca (left groin)
OUT: Jose Mulato (un-rostered)
OUT: Peter Musa (awaiting P-1 visa)
OUT: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (picking up green card)
Questionable: Enes Sali (listed in North Texas SC travel squad)
Questionable: Tarik Scott (listed in North Texas SC travel squad)
Questionable: Ale Urzua (listed in North Texas SC travel squad)
Questionable: Isaiah Parker (listed in North Texas SC travel squad)
Questionable: Jesus Ferreira (“lower body”)
Questionable: Paxton Pomykal (knee)
Probable: Ema Twumasi (ankle)
Antonio Carrera was loaned to North Carolina FC.
San Jose Earthquakes
OUT: JT Marcinkowski – (Knee Surgery)
OUT: Niko Tsakiris – (Lower Body Injury)
FCD Lineup Prediction
With Petar Musa not yet in town, the choices at the 9 are Logan Farrington or Eugene Ansah. I’m rolling with Farrington but it could easily be the opposite.
Sebastian Lletget gets the nod over Bernie Kamungo at one of the 10s with Paul Arriola.
Asier Illarramendi and Liam Fraser in MF as Paxton Pomykal is questionable. Dante Sealy at left wingback and Herbert Endeley at right wingback. The three CBs are obvious, as is Maarten Paes in net.
Bench Prediction
Jimmy Maurer
Eugene Ansah
Omar Gonzalez
Bernie Kamungo
Nolan Norris
Tomas Pondeca
Ema Twumasi
Patrickson Delgado
Jesus Ferreira or Paxton Pomykal, maybe.
MLS Kit Assignments
Green keeper kit? Boo. We like the black one.
Officials
New policy during the lockout, referees will be announced on the day of the game.
More Game Info
- FCD vs. SJ all-time: 21-29-22 (87 goals scored, 109 goals conceded)
- FCD vs. SJ home: 13-12-10 (45 goals scored, 47 goals conceded)
San Jose head coach Luchi Gonzalez was the FC Dallas head coach from 2018-21.
In 2023, FC Dallas Homegrowns (Edwin Cerrillo, Jesús Ferreira, Paxton Pomykal, Collin Smith, Nolan Norris, Tarik Scott, Dante Sealy) played a total of 5,978 minutes and made 92 appearances.
Nico Estevez‘s .574 winning percentage is the second-highest among the nine FC Dallas head coaches (No. 1, Oscar Pareja – .585)
FC Dallas has taken on San Jose three times on opening day. Dallas defeated the Earthquakes twice and lost once.
Quakes midfielder Carlos Gruezo played for FC Dallas from 2016 to 2019.
First, game, there aren’t a lot of notes.
Morton started 15 games in 1972 for an injured Staubach, who eventually returned in the playoffs. The Cowboys decided to trade Morton in 1974 to the Giants, who sent back a first-round pick, which turned out to be the No. 2 overall pick in 1975. The Cowboys used that selection to take Randy White, a 10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer.
Ironically enough, White’s best game was likely Super Bowl XII, when he was named Co-MVP with Harvey Martin. The Cowboys’ Doomsday defense dominated the Broncos, who were quarterbacked by Morton.
Overall, Morton played for the Cowboys, Giants and Broncos before officially retiring at the end of the 1982 season.
His career ended with 27,908 passing yards, ranking him 71st in NFL history, just ahead of Hall of Famer Joe Namath (27,663).
With the official NFL schedule coming this week, the Dallas Cowboys have revealed when, where and against who their Week 1 contest will be.
The Cowboys announced that they will square off against the New York Giants on the road in Week 1, with the game set for Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:20 p.m. CT. So, it’s prime time for the Cowboys to start the season.
This is the second game we know about for the Cowboys this year. Of course, we know they will be playing on Thanksgiving, also.
The official schedule will drop on May 14, the NFL announced last week. Schedules for all 32 teams will be revealed on ESPN and the NFL Network, but each team will unveil its own schedule on social media, also.
The Cowboys were always likely to play a road game in Week 1 because of an Usher and Chris Brown concert taking place at AT&T Stadium that week.
Dallas will also be impacted by an Ed Sheeran concert in Week 7, so that’s another potential road game. They could also play on Monday or Thursday that week, or have a bye.
Cowboys’ strength of schedule
According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Cowboys are not going to have an easy road to make the postseason.
The Cowboys have the fourth-toughest schedule in the NFL going into the 2026 season, with only the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers having tougher slates.
Dallas’ schedule is also the third-toughest in the NFC, and the most difficult in the NFC East.
Sharp does his strength of schedule rankings based on win totals from Vegas oddsmakers rather than utilizing the previous season’s records because that metric doesn’t factor in offseason changes.
The Cowboys will play home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
On the road, Dallas will square off against the Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Of those opponents, seven of them made the postseason in 2025, a list that includes the Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Texans, Rams, Seahawks and Packers.
All of those teams should be as good in 2026, and teams like the Colts, Titans, Ravens, Bucs, Giants and Commanders have a very real chance to be improved as well.
It won’t be an easy road for Dallas to get back to the playoffs in 2026, but there’s at least hope following a defensive overhaul.
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