The final match of the weekend in the MLS will see Los Angeles Galaxy taking on Houston Dynamo at the Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday morning.
LA Galaxy come into this match in fourth place in the Western Conference standings with 22 points, while the visitors are currently eighth with 18 points earned to date.
Match preview
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After a very disappointing 2023 campaign where they finished 13th in the Western Conference standings and missed the playoffs, LA Galaxy have started the 2024 season on a much better note.
They went unbeaten in their first six league matches, picking up 12 points in that time, including three draws and three wins before conceding their first league defeat away to cross-town rivals Los Angeles FC.
Despite rebounding from that setback with back-to-back victories, Greg Vanney's side are now winless in their last five league games, including a loss and four consecutive draws leading up to this match.
Last time out, Galaxy played out a goalless draw against Charlotte with Novak Micovic marking his first start for the season with a shutout. The 22-year-old made just two starts for the side last year in his first season in the league.
Despite their dip in form of late, the five-time MLS Cup champions remain very much in the post-season picture and will fancy their chances of snapping out of their winless run here against a Houston side that are yet to find top gear this season.
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Meanwhile, Houston Dynamo have experienced a mixed start to the 2024 league campaign, currently holding a record of five wins, three draws and five losses, leaving them four points above Portland, who are the first side below the final series playoff spots.
The Dynamo's played out a 1-1 draw in the Texas Derby against old foes Dallas last week. Amine Bassi gave his side the lead on the stroke of halftime but their lead was wiped out by Petar Musa's equaliser 20 minutes before the final whistle.
In contrast to last season, when they ended the campaign as the second-highest scoring team in the West with 51 goals, Ben Olsen's side have struggled in front of goal this term, finding the net just 12 times in 13 games, which is the lowest tally in the Conference to date and second-worst across the MLS.
Notably, though, Houston have performed better on the road so far this season, earning nine points in their first six away games (W3 D0 L3) and they will be hoping to add to that tally here, having taken at least a point from each of their last three visits to Dignity Health Sports Park.
Team News
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LA Galaxy have just one noted injury absentee in Joseph Paintsil, who is out with a hamstring strain and is only expected to return to first-team action in the next six to eight weeks.
Former Barcelona man Riqui Puig has made a soild start to the 2023-24 season with five assists and three goals in 13 games and he will be hoping to add to that tally in this one.
Houston Dynamo, on the other hand, have two players ruled out for this match in Sebastian Ferreira and Nelson Quinones, who are recovering from a leg and knee injury, respectively.
Daniel Steres is carrying a hip injury, and Franco Escobar is nursing a muscle stain. Both players have been flagged as a doubt for this weekend fixture, while Sebastian Kowalczyk will miss the match through suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Micovic; Yamane, Yoshida, Neal, Aude; Delgado, Cerrillo, Puig; Fagundez, Joveljic, Pec
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Dorsey, Sviatchenko, Micael, Steres; Herrera, Artur; Carrasquilla, Bassi, Aliyu; Segal
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 2-2 Houston Dynamo
LA Galaxy are the favourites here but their form of late has been questionable and they have struggled to put games to bed from winning positions. Indeed, Houston have also been way below their best this season but they have shown improvement in the last few weeks and we feel they will be able to earn a share of the spoils in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
