Enemy Scouting Report - Los Angeles FC
(image via Concacaf)
The Houston Dynamo have been on the road for what seemed like an eternity. Today, the Dynamo are back to defend Shell Energy Stadium once more. However, tonight’s visiting team, LAFC, haven’t found victory in their last four outings and are hungry for a win. Especially after falling short of being crowned the kings of CONCACAF.
LAFC are currently in a rut, but every team goes through rough patches each season. Houston will hope Los Angeles struggles to continue, and the Dynamo will defend Shell Energy Stadium at all costs. But, the fire power that LAFC holds when they are kicking on all cylinders is purely incredible. The Southern California team has won 11 games in all competitions in 2023, scoring 3 goals or more in eight of those. Purely ridiculous.
Here are the players that the Dynamo will need to contain if they want to find success against LAFC. Denis Bouanga is a scoring machine. The striker from Gabon has scored 17 goals so far this year in all competitions. His last regular season goal was about a month ago in a draw against Sporting KC. Carlos Vela is an obvious choice to make the list here. In the last match between the clubs, Vela scored a brace from the penalty spot. The Mexican star is always a dangerous option for the Black and Gold, he has 5 goals and 4 assists during MLS play. Lastly, Ilie Sanchez is the piece that links both sides of the field for LAFC and will give Artur and Hector Herrera a run for their money tonight. Contain Ilie and the chances for Houston to succeed increase exponentially. Ben Olsen will hope that he prepares his team for this encounter since he will watch the game from the stands.
Los Angeles FC Season Record: 3W-5L-8D
Results in the last 30 days:
May 13 – Real Salt Lake 0-3 LAFC
May 17 - LAFC 1-1 Sporting KC
May 20 - LAFC 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes
May 23 - LAFC 0-2 LA Galaxy (US Open Cup)
May 31 - Leon 2-1 LAFC (Champions League)
June 4 - LAFC 0-1 Leon (Champions League)
June 7 - LAFC 0-0 Atlanta United
Past Match Staring XI (from mlssoccer.com)
There will likely be some variation but look to see many of the players in the graphic starting.
2023 Active Roster
Goalkeepers: Eldin Jakupovic, Maxime Crepeau, Abraham Romero, John McCarthy
Defenders: Denil Maldonado, Jesus Murillo, Mamadou Fall, Diego Palacios, GiorgioChiellini, Mohamed Traore, Erik Duenas, Ryan Hollinghead, Tony Leone, Sergi Palencia, Aaron Long, Julian Gaines
Midfielders: Ilie Sanchez, Francisco Ginella, Timothy Tillman, Daniel Crisostomo, Mateusz Bogusz, Jose Cifuentes, Kellyn Acosta
Forwards: Stipe Biuk, Carlos Vela, Christian Torres, Kwadwo Opoku, Nathan Ordaz, Denis Bouanga, Bajung Darboe
Can Houston continue to make Shell Energy Stadium their fortress?
