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Chivas USA-FC Dallas Preview

Aug 20, 2010 - 5:41 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Chivas USA (5-10-4) at FC Dallas (8-2-9), 8:30 p.m. EDT

Before going for an MLS-record road unbeaten streak next weekend, FC Dallas will look to continue its dominance at Pizza Hut Park.

Dallas tries to extend its overall unbeaten streak to 11 and win its fifth straight at home Saturday night when it faces a Chivas USA club that is playing better since the teams last met.

FC Dallas (8-2-9), which earned a share of the league record by extending its road unbeaten run to nine with a 3-1 victory over MLS-worst D.C. last Saturday, will try to gain sole possession of that mark next Saturday against Columbus.

Dallas is 6-0-4 overall since a 1-0 home loss to Los Angeles on May 20 and sits third in the Western Conference.

"The nice thing about the streak is it gives you another motivation," coach Schellas Hyndman told FC Dallas' official website. "... We didn't start the season off saying we want to have this goal to have this amount of wins in a row. Our goal was to get into the playoffs. That's still our goal."

Midfielder David Ferreira could play a major role in that happening. The 31-year-old Colombian has found the back of the net five times and registered three assists during the 10-game unbeaten streak. Ferreira, third in MLS with seven assists, scored the winner with a second-half penalty kick in a 2-1 road victory over Chivas USA on June 26.

"It's good to know that other teams are worried about me," Ferreira told MLS' official website through an interpreter. "I still have that sense of responsibility that I have to figure out ways to beat other teams. (But) I think most of the opponents are not only thinking about me but the rest of the team with what we've been doing."

Despite sitting at the bottom of the West, Chivas (5-10-4) is 2-1-3 after dropping a franchise-worst six straight. It snapped Seattle's franchise-record four-game winning streak by playing to a scoreless draw last Saturday.

"Sometimes I look at the schedule and I think we're having a pretty tough time," midfielder Paulo Nagamura said. "It's always a team that is on a winning streak. But we have to get as many points as we can and it's going to be another tough game. (FC Dallas is) playing well, but we're playing better, too."

Chivas is 1-0-1 in its last two visits to Pizza Hut Park, but Dallas has outscored opponents 8-1 during its season-best four-game run at home.

FC Dallas has not surrendered more than one goal in any of its last 15 matches.

Dallas forward Jeff Cunningham will likely come off the bench again as he looks to score for the third straight match and move closer to United forward Jaime Moreno's MLS record of 132 goals. Cunningham, who has 128, has found the back of the net five times in 11 matches versus Chivas.

FC Dallas is 7-3-4 all-time against Chivas USA.