Minnesota United at FC Dallas preview: Loons regain key players for playoffs

8:30 p.m. at FC Dallas * FS1, Fox Deportes, 1500 AM.

Preview

Loons forward Bongokuhle Hlongwane trained with his teammates on Saturday and could start after more than a month sidelined by a knee injury, depending how he responded to the session's work, coach Adrian Heath said. "He's available for selection," Heath said. "Whether we start him or not remains to be seen." … The Loons are expected to have central midfielders Robin Lod (calf) and Kervin Arriaga (suspension) available as well. Heath reported star playmaker Emanuel Reynoso trained "really well" all week and added, "Robin looks fit and Bongi has joined in with the group, so we have a few options." … The Loons will hold a watch party Monday night at Allianz Field. Doors open at 7 p.m. … The two teams split the season series, with each winning away from home. The Loons won 2-1 in May at Toyota Stadium. FC Dallas scored three goals in four minutes in a 3-0 victory in September. The Loons are 6-6-2 overall against Dallas and 1-4-2 there since entering MLS in 2017. … FC Dallas finished the season 3-1-1 in its last five games, starting with the 3-0 victory over the Loons on Sept. 3. But it's 1-1-1 in those last three, including a 1-1 tie at San Jose and a 1-0 loss at Colorado before beating Sporting Kansas City at home 2-1 on Decision Day. The Loons won a club-record six road games this season, but haven't won one since August. They were 0-4 on the road to finish the season, outscored by a combined 10-1. ... The winner of Monday's game will play at Austin FC in the conference semifinals at 7 p.m. Sunday.

Injuries