Fresh off the back of picking up their first win of the new MLS campaign, Houston Dynamo go head to head with New York City FC at the Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday evening.
While the Pigeons have won each of their last two outings, they will head into the weekend looking to pick up their first away victory this season having failed in their previous two attempts.
Match preview
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After stumbling into the new campaign, Houston Dynamo finally got their season up and running as they picked up a 2-0 victory over Austin FC when the sides squared off last weekend.
Ben Olsen's men looked set to go another 90 minutes without a goal until Amine Bassi broke the deadlock from the spot in the 71st minute and Hector Herrera made sure of the result with a low strike into the bottom right corner.
Prior to that, Houston Dynamo were beaten 2-1 by FC Cincinnati in their season curtain-raiser on February 26, one week before suffering a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of New England Revolution.
Following last Sunday's victory, the Houston outfit have now gone three consecutive home matches without defeat across all competitions, picking up two wins and one draw since the turn of the year.
Orange Crush will be hoping for a better outing in this year's MLS campaign after finishing bottom but one in the Western Conference last season, just one point above last-placed San Jose Earthquakes.
The goal for Houston Dynamo this season is a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, when they went all the way before suffering a gruesome Western Conference final defeat to Seattle Sounders.
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Off the back of an unconvincing pre-season campaign, where they managed just one win in six friendly outings, New York City FC endured a slow start to the 2023 Major League Soccer season.
Despite being in the ascendancy for most of the game, the Pigeons were condemned to a 2-0 loss against Nashville in February's league opener, with Walker Zimmerman and Jacob Shaffelburg finding the target for the Music.
This was followed by a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw with Chicago Fire one week later as they saw their lead slip away courtesy of Fabian Herbers's 75th-minute equaliser.
However, New York City FC have turned things around in recent weeks, starting with a 1-0 victory over Inter Miami on March 12 thanks to a first-half own goal from Swedish defender Christopher McVey.
That result served as a springboard for another impressive showing as Nicholas Cushing's men picked up a pulsating 3-2 victory over DC United in their second consecutive game at the Yankee Stadium a week later.
With two straight home victories in the bag, the New York side will head into the weekend looking to pick up their first away win since edging out CF Montreal 3-1 in the playoffs quarter-finals last October.
However, they must see off the threat of a Houston Dynamo side who are unbeaten in five of the last seven meetings between the teams, claiming three wins and two draws since February 2015.
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Team News
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Houston Dynamo remain without the services of Australia international Brad Smith, who has been sidelined since last July through an ACL injury.
New signing Franco Escobar is also set to sit out his third consecutive game after picking up an injury in February's league curtain-raiser against Cincinnati.
Brazilian prodigy Talles Magno opened his account for the season with his strike against DC United and we expect the 20-year-old to spearhead the New York City attack once again.
Fellow countryman Gabriel Pereira and 23-year-old Matias Pellegrini should offer support from the flanks, while Santiago Rodriguez, who was involved in two of the three goals against Wayne Rooney's side, should sit in the hole.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Maxime Chanot is currently away on international duty, meaning that former Palmeiras man Thiago Martins could form the centre-back pairing with 29-year-old Tony Alfaro, shielding Luis Barraza in goal.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Dorsey, Bartlow, Hadebe, Schmitt; Herrera, Carrasquilla, Artur; Quinones, Ulfarsson, Franco
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Barraza; Ilenic, Martins, Alfaro, Cufre; Sands, Parks; Pereira, Rodriguez, Pellegrini; Magno
We say: Houston Dynamo 1-2 New York City FC
While Houston will be looking to build on last weekend's result and put together a fine run of form, they go up against a New York City FC side who appear to have finally hit their stride. The Pigeons put three goals past DC United last time out and we are backing them to pick up where they dropped off by claiming all three points.
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