Preview:Houston Dynamo vs Los Angeles Galaxy - prediction, team news, lineups

The Houston Dynamo can move into a tie for the final Western Conference playoff spot on Saturday when they host the Los Angeles Galaxy at Shell Energy Stadium.

Orange Crush moved to within three points of the San Jose Earthquakes thanks to a 3-2 win over St Louis City, while the Galaxy remain dead last in MLS despite winning their previous league fixture 3-0 over the Colorado Rapids.

Match preview

At last, the Dynamo found the win column in their previous encounter to get right back in the thick of the post-season race out West.

Houston were on a nine-match winless run across all competition before that, though they now have points in four of their last five league contests.

Ben Olsen has never missed the post-season since taking charge of this team ahead of the 2023 campaign, guiding them to consecutive 50+ point campaigns.

For them to reach that mark again, they must win each of their remaining six fixtures, while the Dynamo can equal their longest domestic winning run of the season (two games) on Saturday.

Three of their remaining league contests take place at Shell Energy Stadium, where Houston have claimed just four victories all year, the joint second-fewest in the Western Conference.

Their last two home games against the Galaxy wound up in a triumph for Orange Crush, who can end a three-match winless run at Shell Energy Stadium this weekend.

It feels as though it is too late for Los Angeles to salvage this domestic campaign, but they have had some positivity going their way in recent weeks.

The reigning MLS Cup champions have won three of their previous four competitive fixtures, earning a place in next year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup thanks to a 2-1 win over Orlando City in the Leagues Cup third-place match last Sunday.

Greg Vanney’s men can match their longest winning run of the year this weekend (two games) and also collect their first away triumph of the 2025 regular season.

LA have given up three or more goals in five of their previous eight league contests away from home, while netting in six of those last seven games as the visitors.

While their four victories in this competition occurred when they had drawn first blood, this team have also dropped seven points when doing so this year.

They have not beaten the Dynamo in Houston since 2022 (3-1) but have points in three of their previous four meetings against them in MLS.

Houston Dynamo Major League Soccer form:

Houston Dynamo form (all competitions):

Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer form:

Los Angeles Galaxy form (all competitions):

Team News

Knee injuries kept Andrew Tarbell and Nelson Quinones out of the Dynamo lineup the last time out, while Pablo Ortiz was sidelined with a lower-body issue.

Ezequiel Ponce and Duane Holmes scored for them against St Louis, with Orange Crush also benefitting from an own goal by Frederick Kessler.

On the Galaxy side of things, Riqui Puig continues to recover from his torn ACL, which has seen him miss the entire 2025 MLS season.

Harbor Miller, Elijah Wynder and Gabriel Pec scored in their victory over the Rapids, as James Marcinkowski only had to make one stop for the clean sheet.

Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:

Bond; Dorsey, Sviatchenko, Carlos, Andrade; Artur, Duenas; Bassi, Lingr, Segal; Ponce

Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:

Marcinkowski; Yamane, Rindov, Jorgensen, Nelson; Wynder, Cerrillo; Pec, Reus, Paintsil; Berry

We say: Houston Dynamo 2-1 Los Angeles Galaxy

The Dynamo know they cannot afford many more missteps, and we expect them to be more determined and compact when needed against a team that have not had a lot go their way in MLS this year.

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