A rash of injuries and national team call-upsmake it difficult to project what Schellas Hyndman will have planned when histeam takes the field Friday night. Most critical of all is the health status of Ricardo Villar, who islisted as questionable after bruising his ribs against Sporting Kansas City lastweekend.
IN ATTACK
No player has been more central to the Texans'forward thrust than playmaker Ricardo Villar, who has capably filled in for theinjured David Ferreira this season. Equal parts finisher and set-up man, Villar cannot be given space in thefinal third. Dallas' opponentshave thus far adopted a physical approach when dealing with the 32-year-oldBrazilian but - should D.C. choose to do the same - United must be preparedto defend against Villar's expertly taken set pieces.
Operating as the lone forward in what sometimesends up looking like a 4-1-4-1, 6-foot-2 target man Blas Perez is a handful. Active off the ball and tough on it, the Panamanian will likely go toe-to-toe with Emiliano Dudar in the heart of United'sdefense. Dudar dominated a similarbattle with Eric Hassli a week ago and a repeat performance will go a long wayfor the Black-and-Red.
Another player to watch is winger Bryan Leyva,the first pro product to come out of Dallas' academy system. The youngster will not hesitate to runat defenders from his right midfield spot, and Daniel Woolard - who is perhapscoming off the best performance of his United tenure - must be up to thetask.
IN DEFENSE
With 13 clean sheets a year ago, Kevin Hartmanlead Major League Soccer in shutouts. In 2012, FC Dallas has yet to blank an opponent through three matches,as Hyndman's squad - and his goalkeeper - have made some uncharacteristicmistakes. Beaten near-post onSporting Kansas City's late game-winner a week ago, Hartman will be hungry foran improved outing at RFK.
Last week, Dallas struggled in defending deadballs. United rookie Nick DeLeonprovided quality set-piece service against Vancouver, and if the first-yearplayer can keep that consistency Friday night, look for Hamdi Salihi to findsome dangerous spaces.
Due to injury and Brek Shea's call-up, Dallas was forced to shifttheir backline a week ago. GeorgeJohn was re-introduced to the starting eleven, but his understanding with UgoIhemelu didn't seem to be in midseason form. D.C. will do well to look for the spaces between that pairand holding midfielder Daniel Hernandez because Zach Loyd and either Jair Benitez or Hernan Pertuzare lockdown defenders out wide.
