Cameron Knowles believes Minnesota United's good recent form away from home can only be seen as positive as they prepare for another road trip to FC Dallas this week. 

Minnesota failed to win their opening three games away from home (D1 L2), but back-to-back victories over the LA Galaxy and San Diego FC have steadied the ship.

The Loons were back at Allianz Stadium for their last MLS fixture, and made it three consecutive league wins thanks to a 2-0 triumph over Phil Neville's Portland Timbers.

Tomas Chancalay opened the scoring in the 16th minute before Kelvin Yeboah's strike on the hour sealed the win and moved them up to sixth in the Western Conference. 

And ahead of travelling to Toyota Stadium, Knowles did not understate the importance of his team's results of late, most notably focusing on their displays on enemy territory. 

"The guys wanted to get off to a good start in the game and to score a relatively early goal. We spoke about the importance of those first 15 minutes," Knowles said. 

"They did a really good job. We managed some dangerous moments in transition, and we made sure that we didn't make it a game that would suit them more than us. 

"Overall, to bring those results that we've had on the road to bring back home is really important to keep that run of results going is extremely important."

But just one point and one place separates Minnesota and Dallas at this early stage of the campaign, though Eric Quil's side are out for a return to winning ways here. 

Although they are unbeaten in their last five matches, the Toros have drawn their last two encounters, the latest of which saw them drop points to the Galaxy on home turf.

Petar Musa's brace had put Dallas in control, but two goals in five minutes at the end of the first half from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil saw the spoils shared. 

Quill was left to rue his team's costly lapse in concentration, adding that his players must ensure they hammer home their advantage when taking leads in the future. 

"In that situation, you have to lock in and understand how important those final 10 to 12 minutes before half-time are when you’re up 2-0," Quill said.

"On the two goals, we had numbers behind the ball. It wasn't about being outnumbered. It was little details that changed the game, and we know those moments can't happen.

"We need to improve our discipline because I think we're going to have leads often. We have great quality, and we can score goals with the best teams.

"The question is whether we can see out those leads, keep our foot on the gas, and stay disciplined when we're ahead."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

FC Dallas – Petar Musa

Musa has scored nine times in FC Dallas' first eight games this year, the most by a player in the team's first eight games of a season.

He is the fourth player, after Diego Rossi in 2020, Thierry Henry in 2012 and Edson Buddle in 2010, to score nine times in his team's first eight games of a season.

Minnesota United – Toms Chancalay

Along with his goal, Chancalay also provided an assist for Minnesota, his third straight regular-season match with an assist.

Only Jospeh Rosales, Robin Lod and Darwin Quintero in the Loons' club history have assisted a goal in at least four straight games.

MATCH PREDICTION: FC DALLAS WIN

Dallas have won each of their first four home matches against Minnesota from 2017 to 2020. Since then, they have lost only one of seven visits to Dallas (W3 D3, including a penalty shoot-out loss).

And despite losing a two-goal lead, Dallas extended its home unbeaten streak to 12 games (W6 D6, incl. playoffs) with a draw against LA Galaxy. Five of the last seven games in that run, including the last two in a row, have been drawn.

Minnesota, meanwhile, have won three consecutive regular-season matches for the first time since between April and May 2024 after a win over Portland.

The Loons have won four straight league games just once in club history, coming between June and July 2019, with the fourth of those wins coming at Dallas.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

FC Dallas – 41.1%

Draw – 26.7%

Minnesota United – 32.2%