On the back of a painful defeat in the final of the CONCACAF Champions League, a faltering Los Angeles FC side travel to the Shell Energy Stadium to face the Houston Dynamo in Saturday's MLS showdown.
Ben Olsen's men thrashed the Columbus Crew 4-1 in their most recent knockout battle, while their visitors played out a goalless stalemate with Atalanta United after finishing runners-up to Leon in continental action.
Match preview
© Reuters
Conceding an alarming nine goals in two away defeats to the Vancouver Whitecaps and St Louis City was far from the ideal way for Houston to warm up for a cup quarter-final with the Chicago Fire, whose unbeaten home run in MLS has been well-documented.
However, the form book was ripped up on Tuesday as Olsen's men convincingly put their Illinois counterparts to the sword, with a brace from Ibrahim Aliyu alongside strikes from Amine Bassi and Nelson Quinones doing the damage, making Arnaud Souquet's response a mere consolation.
Ahead of a semi-final date with Real Salt Lake in August, the Dynamo seek to reverse a worrying trend of MLS form that has seen them prevail in just one of their last seven top-flight matches, leaving them outside of playoff contention in 10th place in the Western Conference.
Souquet's strike for the Fire in the US Open Cup also stretched the hosts' run without a clean sheet to four matches in all tournaments, while they have failed to record a shut-out in six successive MLS affairs, but home is usually where the heart is for Olsen's side.
Indeed, the Dynamo have taken 16 points from 21 on offer at the Shell Energy Stadium in the 2023 campaign - conceding a mere two goals in the process - which makes for grim reading for a shot-shy and morale-depleted Los Angeles crop.
© Reuters
Los Angeles FC missed out on a potential semi-final showdown with the Dynamo courtesy of their last-16 loss to local adversaries the Los Angeles Galaxy last month, and Steve Cherundolo's men would fail to shake off the effects of that elimination when the CONCACAF Champions League final took centre stage.
Following a 2-1 reverse to Mexican outfit Leon in the first leg, Los Angeles could not make the most of territorial advantage at BMO Stadium, falling short in a 1-0 second-leg loss and missing out on what would have been a maiden continental crown.
Cherundolo's crestfallen troops had little time to dwell on that disappointment as Atlanta United paid a visit to BMO Stadium on Wednesday night, where despite firing 22 shots on the visitors' goal, Los Angeles could not beat an impenetrable Brad Guzan and reluctantly accepted a point.
With just one goal from their last four games in all tournaments - perhaps a sign of fatigue setting in - the Black and Gold sit third in the Western Conference Standings as they bid to defend their MLS crown, while each of their last four road contests in league action has seen Cherundolo's team find the back of the net.
The Dynamo bested Los Angeles 2-1 in this fixture during the 2022 season, but the Black and Gold responded with a 3-1 success on home soil back in September, and both sides have scored in all of the previous 10 MLS showdowns between the two outfits.
Team News
© Reuters
The Houston Dynamo should once again be without a trio of known absentees for the weekend, as Ifunanyachi Achara (knee), Teenage Hadebe (leg) and Tate Schmitt (knee) are all continuing their recoveries.
It is unclear if Daniel Steres will be back in time from his hip injury too, but Olsen still has plenty of big calls to make in the wake of his side's eye-catching cup triumph, where 37-year-old Steve Clark was rested as Andrew Tarbell enjoyed a run-out in goal.
Clark should certainly come back in between the sticks here, though, while Bassi and Quinones have staked their claims for starts either side of Aliyu, who is yet to get off the mark in MLS since joining from NK Lokomotiva in April.
As for the visitors, centre-back Aaron Long and right-back Sergi Palencia were forced off with head and lower extremity injuries respectively in the second leg of their continental defeat to Leon, and neither man was able to play a part on Wednesday night.
The quick turnaround makes it difficult to envisage Long or Palencia forcing their way back in for the weekend, while Maxime Crepeau (leg) is also missing, and the duo of Kellyn Acosta and Timothy Tillman will need assessing closer to kickoff.
Following criticism of his display in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final against Lyon, Carlos Vela fluffed his lines twice from the penalty spot off the bench against Atlanta, but the ex-Arsenal starlet should be welcomed back to the first XI here.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Steres, Sviatchenko, Micael, Gasper; Herrera, Caicedo; Bassi, Carrasquilla, Quinones; Aliyu
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Hollingshead, Murillo, Chiellini, Palacios; Cifuentes, Sanchez, Duenas; Vela, Bouanga, Opoku
We say: Houston Dynamo 1-1 Los Angeles FC
Neither the hosts nor the visitors will escape the effects of midweek fatigue this week, but Houston's penchant for clean sheets at home coupled with Los Angeles' recent shortcomings in front of goal means that the Black and Gold's struggles could continue at the Shell Energy Stadium.
Injuries are hardly helping the champions' cause either, but Guzan was the sole reason for their failure to score against Atlanta, and rectifying such errors in front of goal could see them walk away with a hard-earned point.
How to watch
You can watch Houston Dynamo vs. Los Angeles FC and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
