Dynamo head west for visit to Galaxy: What to watch for
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo are on the west coast to visit the LA Galaxy tonight. Houston is coming off a 2-0 win on Wednesday night against the Columbus Crew. LA beat San Jose 3-2 on Wednesday. The Dynamo and Galaxy met earlier this season at Shell Energy Stadium, a 3-0 Houston win on April 8.
When: Saturday, September 2 | 9:39 PM CT kickoff
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park; Carson, California
TV/Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN Deportes Houston 93.3 FM (Spanish)
Flying into the break
Tonight’s match will be the last before the Dynamo have two weeks off for the FIFA international break. The Dynamo may not want the break as they ride a four match win streak across all competitions into Southern California. The Galaxy are hot too, winning their last two matches and scoring three goals in each. The Dynamo could potentially end the weekend in second place in the Western Conference depening on other results. That wouldn’t be a bad way to go into some time off.
Urgency
With the Dynamo now into the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup final, the shift focuses to the club’s main goal this season, making the playoffs. Houston are up to fourth place currently, with the top nine making the postseason. There’s still a lot of games to play but there’s also a sense of urgency that drive the Dynamo. “I like to think that the urgency of the moment is what pushes us,” head coach Ben Olsen said Friday. “Whether it's the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup or the importance of that game that follows it and realizing how important it is for us to get into the postseason. It's just having that urgency, and we have a good group. We're fairly clear about who we are at this point. We’ve had success but we're not at the level we need to be. Our objectives are making the playoffs and having the opportunity to raise a trophy this year. That is more so the key.”
Guarding the Galaxy
The Galaxy have scored just 31 goals in 24 games this season but as mentioned above, they have six in their last two. Star striker Chicharito is out injured but they’ve started to get contributions from other guys on the roster. Riqui Puig is the straw that stirs the drink and he’s starting getting more involved in the attack with a goal in the last two matches. Tyler Boyd has also scored two in two and the dynamic winger will be tough to contain on the flanks. Dejan Joveljic has replaced Chicharito at the number 9 and has three goals this season, including one from the penalty spot on Wednesday night.
Availability Report
Houston Dynamo – Out: Ifunanyachi Achara (knee), Teenage Hadebe (leg), Tate Schmitt (knee), Erik Sviatchenko (yellow card accumulation)
LA Galaxy – Out: Javier Hernandez (knee), Gaston Brugman (knee), Martin Caceres (knee), Douglas Costa (shoulder), Julian Aude (yellow card accumulation); Questionable: Jalen Neal (abdomen)
Predicted Lineup
