Following a perfect run through July, FC Dallas has endured a miserable August that has it on the verge of tying its longest MLS losing streak in club history.
A visit from Real Salt Lake, losers of seven in row on the road, might help the club accomplish that goal Saturday night.
FC Dallas (11-8-5) went 5-0-0 in July - its longest win streak since 1999 - and outscored opponents 13-2. The team has tallied just once in three matches since coming off a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver last Saturday.
"It's the same mentality as always. We are positive and the boys are in a good spirit," coach Oscar Pareja told the team's official website. "They understand the nature of the league and where we are and where we're going. To see bumps on the road are normal and we wouldn't like to have them but when you do you have to overcome."
FC Dallas, currently fifth in the West and three points clear of the final playoff spot, will try to avoid its ninth four-game skid in franchise history and first since April 26-May 10, 2014.
In that attempt, Dallas faces a team that's gone 1-11-2 in road games in the series, including the playoffs. Real Salt Lake (8-10-8) lost 2-1 in its most recent visit Aug. 22, 2014, and are mired in its second-longest road losing streak in franchise history.
RSL dropped 14 in a row in its inaugural 2005 season, second only to Kansas City's 16-game run of futility from 1998-99 in MLS history.
Salt Lake snapped a three-game overall losing streak in league play with a 2-0 win over Seattle last Saturday as Javier Morales and Sebastian Jaime scored in the first 19 minutes.
RSL plays four of its next five on the road, including the next two.
"If we can go on this trip and take four (points) out of our next two games, we'd be in a very, very good spot to finish strong and have a really legitimate shot at the playoffs with as tight as the Western Conference is," general manager Craig Waibel told the team's website. "At this point in the season, we've donated too many points along the way to pretend that losses are OK. We're in a win-as-many-as-possible or talk-about-what-could've-been situation."
FC Dallas midfielder Atiba Harris will miss this game due to a yellow card accumulation. Mauro Diaz, one of the team's scoring leaders with five goals and six assists, is uncertain because of a quad injury that's kept him out since a 2-0 loss at Chicago on Aug. 2.
RSL's newest designated player, Juan Manuel Martinez, could see his first action with the club. The Argentine forward was on the bench for last week's win.
