Eric Quill believes the collective effort within FC Dallas' squad is propelling them to the playoffs after earning their third consecutive victory last time out.

Dallas beat the Portland Timbers 2-1 at Toyota Stadium, with goals in either half from Logan Farrington and Joaquin Valiente sealing the win despite Ariel Lassiter's late strike.

Following their weekend win, Dallas stayed in fourth in the Western Conference but remain under pressure from St. Louis City SC and Los Angeles FC.

Austin FC are Dallas' next opponents in the second of three home matches, with LAFC up next on September 26, and Charlotte FC coming after the international break.

Quill explained his team's desire to secure home advantage in the postseason, adding that his side are enjoying their football, which is the reasoning behind their results.

"Everybody's contribution has mattered to the results," Quill said. "When you have a variety of guys and the collective group contributing like that, they're bought in.

"Everybody has a stake in the game, and they're having fun. It's fun when everybody's contribution is helping propel the club.

"We want home-field advantage in the playoffs because that gives you a statistical advantage to move on.

"We want to play in front of our fans, so that's the goal, to be in those spots. I want to chase first. That's how I'm wired, and we have plenty of time to do it."

Austin are another team with aspirations of reaching the playoffs, and they did those chances no harm after stunning West leaders Vancouver Whitecaps with a 2-1 victory.

Christian Ramirez scored either side of Brian White's 49th-minute equaliser to seal the win and move Austin to within one point of nine-place San Diego FC.

The Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Minnesota United and the Seattle Sounders are all in the mix to reach the postseason as the end of the league campaign draws closer.

Austin have not lost any of their last six league matches, and interim boss Davy Arnaud said his team were relishing the chance to take on their rivals away from home.

"There is always a little extra in these weeks, especially when you are going to play Dallas," Arnaud said.

"Considering our position right now and where we are at in the year, and us sticking to our process and what we're doing, it doesn't change anything.

"If anything, it probably gives us some extra juice because it's Dallas and obviously what happened the last time we played them. So, we're excited about it."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Dallas – Petar Musa

Musa provided an assist for the third straight match in the win against Portland, becoming the second Dallas player with a three-match assist streak in 2026, after Valiente.

Over the last 15 seasons, the only Dallas player to have four straight MLS matches with an assist is Jader Obrian in 2022.

Austin – Christian Ramirez

Ramirez became the first Austin player to record a multi-goal game this season last time out.

Prior to Ramirez, it had been more than two years since the last multi-goal MLS match by an Austin player – Gyasi Zardes on July 6, 2024, against New York City FC.

MATCH PREDICTION: DALLAS WIN

Dallas are unbeaten in their seven home meetings with Austin (W6 D1), including four straight wins. Dallas have never conceded multiple goals at home to Austin, scoring multiple goals in five of those matches, while outscoring Austin 13-4.

The Toros also picked up their third straight win after beating Portland, the team's longest regular-season winning streak since a three-game stretch between October-November 2020. The last time Dallas had a longer league winning streak was four games in May-June 2018.

Austin, however, are also unbeaten in their last six MLS matches after beating Vancouver. It's the team's third unbeaten run in the regular season of at least six games, and one game shy of matching their longest stretch, a run of seven straight games set in June-July 2022.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Dallas – 56.9%

Draw – 22.2%

Austin – 20.9%