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FC Dallas Welcomes West's Best

In the midst of a twelve-game winless streak, basement-dwelling Dallas hosts San Jose, the top team in the Western Conference.

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 22: Fabian Castillo #15 of the FC Dallas shoots the ball through two San Jose Earthquakes defenders during an MLS game at Buck Shaw Stadium on October 22, 2011 in Santa Clara, California.  (Photo by Tony Medina/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 22: Fabian Castillo #15 of the FC Dallas shoots the ball through two San Jose Earthquakes defenders during an MLS game at Buck Shaw Stadium on October 22, 2011 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Tony Medina/Getty Images)
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With the FC Dallas' playoff hopes currently clinging to life in the ICU, the villain that comes to disconnect the life-support equipment once and for all arrives in the form of the San Jose Earthquakes.

The San Jose Earthquakes come not only as league-best in many categories, including goals scored, but arrive with trouble on the wings in the form of former FC Dallas midfielder Marvin Chavez, whose speed and work-rate excited FC Dallas fans for two seasons before being traded to the now first-place Quakes.

The San Jose Earthquakes have reinvented themselves drastically this season after a disappointing season last year in which they failed to make the playoffs. The Quakes addressed their midfield woes by adding Marvin Chavez and by focusing on a more two-pronged threat with Chris Wondolowski as a target man while Steven Lenhart bullies his way into the box with size and speed.

FC Dallas meanwhile is barely alive and have had a supremely disappointing season so far. While David Ferreira is again expected to make the bench, he is described by coach Schellas Hyndman as only at "65%" and so expectations for his contributions must be lowered. Simply having Ferreira back on the field is a massive boost to morale, but it will take a while for his body to perform what his brilliant soccer-mind tells him to do.

The match will start at 8 PM CT and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest.

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.