LA Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo: Preview and How to Watch
By Juan Herrera
After defeating Orange County SC 3-1 on Wednesday, the LA Galaxy will welcome the Houston Dynamo to the StubHub Center on Saturday.
With the Galaxy and the Dynamo picking up wins in the U.S. Open Cup, both teams will be looking to keep their momentum going heading into the midway point of the season. While the Dynamo have only won two of their last five games, the team remains third in the MLS Western Conference standings. The Galaxy however, have not fared as well. Despite not having lost a game since late April, the team remains eighth in the west.
The Galaxy will look to pickup a win to dig themselves out of the hole they dug early on in the season. In contrast, the Dynamo will look for a win in the hopes of keeping up with Sporting KC and Portland at the top of the west.
LA Galaxy
Current Record: 5-3-5, 18 pts (8th in Western Conference)
Last Time Out: 3-1 Win vs Orange County SC (U.S. Open Cup)
Player To Watch: Romain Alessandrini. The Marseille-born striker has emerged as the Galaxy’s most integral attacking piece. In 13 games, Alessandrini has scored six goals and collected six assists. The offense has to go through Alessandrini for them to score and when he plays well, the Galaxy play well.
Why They Win: Alessandrini and the Galaxy are red-hot. Since losing to the Sounders in mid-April, the Galaxy have not lost a single game. With recent wins over Minnesota, the Red Bulls and the Earthquakes, the Galaxy have simply overpowered teams with its explosive attack. Against an inconsistent team like Houston, the Galaxy should find success.
Why They Won’t: The Galaxy will be without its co-leading scorer, Giovanni Dos Santos on Saturday. The forward will be playing for the Mexican national team in the Confederations Cup. Midfielder Jermaine Jones will also be unavailable as he is still recovering from an MCL sprain. Without these two integral pieces in the attack, the Galaxy may not have enough firepower to break through the Dynamo’s backline.
Projected Starting XI:
The LA Galaxy will probably make a few changes to the lineup on Saturday with Jones and Dos Santos Unavailable. pic.twitter.com/YkVUlqf38q
— Juan Herrera (@JuanHNews) June 16, 2017
Houston Dynamo
Current Record: 7-2-6, 23 pts (3rd in Western Conference)
Last Time Out: 3-2 Win vs North Carolina FC (U.S. Open Cup)
Player To Watch: Erick ‘Cubo’ Torres. Although he has struggled to score this month, Torres is still the most dangerous player on offense for the Dynamo. Trailing only Chicago’s Nemanja Nikolic in the league goal scoring race, Torres can go off at any moment. The Mexican forward is also lethal on free kicks. If given enough space, Torres could give the Galaxy a lot of trouble.
Why They Win: With the USMNT’s world cup qualifiers over, the Dynamo will have defender DeMarcus Beasley back and are not really missing too many important players to injury. In contrast, the Galaxy will be without several key players at practically each position. The Galaxy are already without defender Baggio Hušidić and midfielders Robbie Rogers and Sebastian Lletget. Without those players and Jones and Dos Santos, the full-power Dynamo might have too much talent and firepower for the Galaxy.
Why They Won’t: The Dynamo have not won a game on the road all season. The team struggles to score on the road. Houston has also not been consistent all season and have suffered bad losses to teams like Atlanta and Seattle on the road. With the Galaxy at home, Houston will be playing with its back against the wall.
Projected Starting XI:
The Houston Dynamo lineup shouldn't change too much outside of Beasley returning in the backline. pic.twitter.com/fpX1bMZX3R
— Juan Herrera (@JuanHNews) June 16, 2017
Prediction
How to Watch:
- Where: StubHub Center, located on the campus of California State University in Carson, CA
- When: Sat. June 17, 11:00 p.m ET
- Channel: Watch live on UniMás (with SAP) & facebook.com (ENG)