External Publication

FC Dallas vs Colorado Rapids Preview: Lineups, Storylines & What to Watch

Big D Soccer May 23, 2026

FC Dallas closes out the first portion of the 2026 regular season with a visit to their old rivals the Colorado Rapids. After the emotional late win last weekend in San Jose, Dallas suddenly has a chance to turn this stretch into a legitimately successful road swing ahead of the World Cup break.

Colorado remains a difficult team to figure out, especially at altitude. Their league form has been rough as of late, but they did managed to pick up a rare win in the US Open Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night (their first win in that competition over a MLS team since 2006). Rafael Navarro remains on of the league’s more dangerously underrated strikers, and the youth around him are giving other teams headaches.

If Dallas can survive the early pressure and keep its attack rolling, there’s a real opportunity here to grab another solid result away from home.

Let’s dive into some notes, predictions, and more.

TL;DR: Match Preview

Quick hits before kickoff.

Score prediction: FC Dallas 1 - 1 Colorado Rapids
Key player to watch: Santiago Moreno - Dallas needs him to show up in this one and be a difference maker.
Why this game matters: This is the final match before the World Cup break. If Dallas can end this stretch of the season on a positive note, it sets them up well for when play resumes in July.

FC Dallas

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Season xG

Goal Leaders

Assist Leaders

Pass Completion %

Goalkeeper

Stats via American Soccer Analysis • BigDSoccer.com

FC Dallas Notes:

All-time vs Colorado: Dallas and Colorado have matched up 98 times across all competitions. Dallas’ record versus Colorado is 40-37-21, with a 160-140 (includes early MLS penalty kicks) goal differential favoring Dallas.

Road record at Colorado : FC Dallas holds a 9-21-12 all-time regular-season road record against Colorado. Dallas has scored 51 road goals against Colorado. Colorado has scored 65 goals at home versus Dallas. Dallas last won at Colorado on Oct.18, 2014. A Blas Perez goal sealed the win for Dallas that night.

Homegrown clock : Both Michael Collodi and Nolan Norris have gobbled up a good amount of minutes in 2026. Norris also has one goal on the season. Caleb Swann also made his debut off the bench in New York. Together, they have played 2135 minutes. To add more perspective here, Dallas HGPs only accounted for 1775 minutes in 2025.

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Notable season stats :

FCD is 9th in crosses in MLS with 166.
The Burn are 6th in total distance covered in MLS with 632.86 km (1014.61 miles).
FCD is second in MLS in aerial challenges won with 223.
FC Dallas is 9th in MLS in xG with 24.71.
FCD is 4th in MLS in shot efficiency with 3.29.
Musa is 2nd in MLS in xG with 10.05. He also ranks tied for 3rd in MLS in shots with 49.

Potential FC Dallas Lineup:

This is the final game before a long break for the World Cup. We should see mostly what we saw last weekend in San Jose, though the availability of Musa and Deedson is in question here (see why). We still believe they could be available tonight.

Projected Starting XI

Formation: 3-4-3

ST Musa

ST Moreno

CAM Valiente

LWB Binyamin

CM Kaick

CM CRamiro

RWB Johansson

LCB Norris

CB Urhoghide

RCB Moore

GK Sirois

Availability & Disciplinary Report

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Disciplinary Report Suspended: none Suspended with next yellow card: Osaze Urhoghide, Nolan Norris Suspended with next two yellow cards: none

🗒️

Availability Report Season-ending injury list: Kaka Scabin Out : Anderson Julio (lower leg), Bernard Kamungo (lower leg) Questionable : Osaze Urhoghide On Loan: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Enes Sali (Al-Riyadh), Malachi Molina (Nashville SC), Geovane Jesus (North Texas SC), Enzo Newman (North Texas SC) Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Jaidyn Contreras International duty: Petar Musa, Deedson

Colorado Notes:

Key player for Colorado: Rafael Navarro

Scouting Colorado Rapids: What FC Dallas Needs to Know 🔎A detailed scouting report on Colorado ahead of FC Dallas’ 2026 showdown, breaking down formations, key players, tendencies, and tactical edges.Big D SoccerDrew Epperley

Disciplinary Report

Suspended: none Suspended on next yellow card: none

Availability Report Out: Ted Ku-DiPietro (shoulder), Zack Steffen (upper body) Questionable: none International duty: none

How to watch

📅 Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026 ⚽️ Kickoff: 8:30 PM 🏟 Venue: Dicks Sporting Goods Park 📺 Streaming: MLS Season Pass 💬 Gameday Social: #FCDvCOL ☀️ Weather: 66, sunny

Don’t just read the free version

Big game this week for FC Dallas. Before we get into it, members have the full scouting report, projected lineups, and injury report. If you want to go into Matchday actually knowing what to watch for, now's the time.

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