LAFC @ Houston Dynamo
Saturday, Sept. 7 at 5:30 p.m. PT
🏟: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, TX
After a 2-0 defeat to the Houston Dynamo at BMO Stadium last Saturday, LAFC is set to visit Shell Energy Stadium to face the Dynamo again on Saturday, September 7.
LAFC (14W-6L-5D) stands in second place in the Western Conference, with 47 points from 25 matches played. The Black & Gold's all-time record against the Dynamo is 6W-3L-6D. The teams also faced off in back-to-back matches in the 2023 regular season, with Houston emerging victorious in both encounters.
LAFC will be without Denis Bouanga (Gabon), Mateusz Bogusz (Poland), Omar Campos (Mexico U-23), Maxime Chanot (Luxembourg), David Martínez (Venezuela), and Cristian Olivera (Uruguay), who are with their respective national teams during the September FIFA International Break. Head coach Steve Cherundolo addressed those absences during his media session on Thursday. “We'll field a team that will be good enough to win the game on the road in the MLS,” Cherundolo said. “Having six players gone on international duty, to say that is pretty good.”
The Dynamo In Double Depth:
Debut MLS goals from forwards Ezequiel Ponce and Lawrence Ennali helped Houston (11W-8L-7D) improve to seventh place in the Western Conference with 40 points from 26 matches. Unfortunately, Ennali suffered a season-ending injury later in the match and will not be available for the return fixture at home.
Led by head coach Ben Olsen, the Dynamo are 4W-3L-5D at Shell Energy Stadium in 2024, winning just once (1W-1L-2D) in their last four home matches in MLS league play.
Forward Aliyu Ibrahim, who contributed an assist on Saturday, leads Houston with six goals and five assists. Latif Blessing has added five goals.
The Black & Gold Can Win If:
It can manage losing six players to international duty while handling a challenging road environment where it hasn’t won since 2019. The Black & Gold is unbeaten in its last six MLS road games (5W-0L-1D), a significant turnaround after failing to win its first five road matches this season.
With LAFC’s leading goal scorers away on international duty, the team will need to depend on veterans such as Olivier Giroud and Kei Kamara to secure three vital points on the road and continue its push for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The Dynamo Can Win If:
They ride the momentum from last weekend’s win and capitalize on LAFC’s shortened roster sheet. Despite the two goals the Dynamo posted last weekend, scoring on LAFC’s stingy back line remains difficult. The Black & Gold defense has been exceptional as of late, conceding only three goals in its last six league matches on the road.
“I think last week we lost the game a little bit in the midfield,” said LAFC midfielder Timmy Tillman. “It's important for us to focus on that. It wasn't that we had a bad game, but the goals we conceded were just a little too easy. Houston had a lot of control over the game so we will try to break that.”
