Houston Dynamo and Dallas get their 2025 MLS campaign underway when they go head to head in the season curtain-raiser at the Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday night.
This will be the second encounter between the two sides within the space of two weeks, following a 2-2 draw when they met in a warm-up fixture at the Toyota Stadium on February 7.
Match preview
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Having secured a ninth-placed finish in the 2023 Supporters' Shield standings, Houston Dynamo went into the 2024 campaign looking to secure consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 2012.
The Orange Crush enjoyed another impressive regular-season campaign, picking up 15 wins and nine draws from their 34 matches to finish fifth in the Western Conference standings, seven points above eighth-placed Vancouver Whitecaps outside the automatic playoff spots.
Houston Dynamo reached the Conference Finals in 2023, — losing 2-0 at the hands of Los Angeles FC — but they failed to go past the first round last season as they lost twice on penalties against the Seattle Sounders in their best-of-three clash.
Ben Olsen's men head into the new season off the back of a decent pre-season performance as they picked up one win and three draws from their four warm-up matches, with a 3-1 defeat against DC United in their final friendly outing on February 15 being the exception.
While Houston Dynamo will be looking to kick off the new campaign on a positive note, they face the challenge of an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in their last five meetings, losing once and claiming four draws since May 2023.
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As for Dallas, the goal is to return to the playoffs this term and secure post-season football for the first time in six years, following a largely disappointing 2024 campaign.
Eric Quill's men lost 15 of the 34 regular-season games while claiming 11 wins and eight draws to finish 19th in the Supporters' Shield standings and 11th in the Western Conference table.
While Dallas scored an impressive 54 goals last season, they were often let down by their defensive vulnerability as they conceded 56 while they struggled to impose themselves on their travels.
The Toros finished with the second-worst away record in the league last season, picking up just nine points from their 17 matches — only San Jose Earthquakes (8) managed fewer number of points on the road.
Like this weekend's hosts, Dallas head into the new campaign off the back of a decent pre-season display as they picked up two wins and lost two of their five friendly matches while scoring 12 goals and conceding 11 across the five outings.
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Team News
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Houston Dynamo remain without Colombian forward Nelson Quinones, who continues his long road to full fitness after sustaining a severe knee injury in February 2024.
Lawrence Ennali has also been ruled out since suffering a cruciate ligament tear in September while 20-year-old Exon Arzu continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury in October.
Following his January switch from Philadelphia Union, Jack McGlynn is in line to make his league debut for Olsen's men this weekend, while the duo of Nicolas Lodeiro and Michael Halliday recently joined from Orlando City.
Like the hosts, Dallas have their fair share of injury concerns as Brazilian defender Geovane Jesus continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a cruciate ligament injury.
Paxton Pomykal has also been out of action since last March through a knee injury and the 25-year-old will also play no part in this weekend's clash.
Petar Musa was a standout performer for Dallas last season and the Croatian striker, who racked up 16 goals and three assists in 30 league matches, will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Tarbell; Dorsey, Sviatchenko, Steres, Escobar; Artur, McGlynn, Kowalczyk; Bassi, Ponce, Aliyu
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Moore, Urhoghide, Ibeagha, Farfan; Delgado, Ramiro; Kamungo, Acosta, Julio; Musa
We say: Houston Dynamo 2-1 Dallas
Looking at recent meetings between Houston Dynamo and Dallas, we anticipate another thrilling contest at the Shell Energy Stadium with plenty of goalmouth action. The spoils were shared when they faced off in pre-season two weeks back, but we are backing Olsen's men to come away with all three points in front of their home supporters, albeit by the odd goal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
