Preview: Houston Dynamo vs Mazatlan - prediction, team news, lineups

Houston Dynamo will aim to respond to their opening-day setback when they face Mazatlan at Shell Energy Stadium on matchday two of the 2025 Leagues Cup.

The Orange were thrashed 4-1 by Tigres in the early hours of Wednesday, while the Gunners secured a bonus point after edging past Los Angeles FC in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in regulation.

Match preview

Houston are now without a win in four consecutive matches across all competitions, with three of those ending in defeat, including the chastening loss to Tigres that laid bare their current struggles.

Their slump did not begin in the Leagues Cup, as Ben Olsen’s side had already lost two and drawn one of their last three MLS fixtures, a sequence that has left them five points adrift of the wild-card places in the Western Conference, though with a game in hand.

Now under pressure to keep their hopes alive, Houston must take all three points on Saturday or risk crashing out at the first hurdle, with the side currently sitting second from bottom in the MLS group standings.

The Orange are chasing a third consecutive appearance in the knockout stage, having progressed from the group phase in both of their previous Leagues Cup campaigns.

In the 2024 edition, they finished top of their three-team group before bowing out to Toluca on penalties in the round of 32, but with no margin for error this time around, the Texas outfit will still need to take on Pachuca in their final group match as they look to finish among the top four MLS teams and reach the quarter-finals.

Mazatlan have also made it to the knockouts in both of their previous appearances in this competition and will be looking to better last season’s run that ended in the last eight.

The Gunners lost their opening fixture of the 2024 edition and looked headed for a similar fate on Wednesday before Fabio Gomes levelled matters just two minutes after they fell behind, and the Mexican outfit held their nerve to triumph in thrilling shootout.

That result earned them two points, as penalty victories come with a bonus in addition to the draw, a tally that currently places the Mazatlan just below the qualification threshold.

Robert Siboldi’s men can feel confident heading into Saturday’s contest considering their recent resilience, with their only defeat in the last six outings across all competitions being a narrow 1-0 reverse away to Puebla in the top flight.

Houston Dynamo Leagues Cup form:

Houston Dynamo form (all competitions):

Mazatlan Leagues Cup form:

Mazatlan form (all competitions):

Team News

Houston will remain without Andrew Tarbell due to a cruciate ligament injury, while Erik Sviatchenko and Nelson Quinones are also ruled out with muscle and knee problems respectively.

Ezequiel Ponce, who has led the line with purpose this season, scoring nine times in 24 appearances, will be a significant absentee once more after being deemed unfit to feature.

Ondrej Lingr could be trusted in attack again after netting Houston’s only goal in that bruising defeat to Tigres and will be hoping to provide the spark they sorely need.

As for Mazatlan, Christopher Castro is a doubt after being forced off in their last match and will be assessed ahead of kick-off, with Sami Caetano likely to deputise should he be unavailable.

Yoel Barcenas continues to nurse a knee injury and is expected to remain sidelined until early October.

Head coach Siboldi is expected to stick with a similar setup from the previous match, with Gomes and Dudu poised to form the frontline again following their effective link-up that produced the equaliser against Los Angeles.

Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:

Bond; Dorsey, Awodesu, Bartlow, Andrade; Raines, Artur; McGlynn, Holmes, Kowalczyk; Lingr

Mazatlan possible starting lineup:

R Rodriguez; S Rodriguez, Castro, Merolla, Rivas; Villegas, Torres, Fierro, Saavedra; Gomes, Dudu

We say: Houston Dynamo 2-1 Mazatlan

Houston have been unconvincing in recent times but head into this encounter knowing that anything less than victory could spell the end of their tournament hopes, and with the backing of the Shell Energy crowd, the MLS outfit might just edge it in a closely fought contest.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.