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

MLS outfit Houston Dynamo will be bidding to make the perfect start to their 2025 Leagues Cup campaign when they take on Mexican side Tigres on Tuesday night.

Only the top 18 MLS teams from the 2024 season have qualified for the competition, while all 18 Liga MX clubs are participating, with 36 sides battling for the eight quarter-final spots.

Match preview

Tigres are two games into their new domestic season, and it has been a positive start for the Tigers, with six points leaving them in third spot in the table, three points behind leaders Pachuca with a game in hand.

Guido Pizarro's side started their Liga MX campaign with a 1-0 success over Juarez, before beating Toluca 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller last time out, so they will enter this match full of confidence.

The Golden-Blues are eight-time Liga MX champions, while they have previously made the final of the Leagues Cup, losing 2-1 to Cruz Azul in the conclusion of the 2019 tournament.

During the first phase of the 2025 Leagues Cup, teams will play three matches against sides from the other section, and the top four from the two groups will make it to the quarter-finals.

Houston Dynamo, meanwhile, finished fifth in the Western Conference during the 2024 MLS season, but they were knocked out in the playoffs in the first round.

Ben Olsen's side, who have won the MLS Cup twice, are currently 11th in the Western Conference table, boasting a record of seven wins, 11 draws and six defeats from their 24 matches to collect 27 points.

The Orange are three points behind ninth-placed Colorado Rapids, and they will enter this match off the back of a 1-1 draw with Philadelphia Union.

Houston Dynamo have only managed to pick up one point from their last three matches, but they did win successive games against St Louis and San Diego at the end of June and start of July.

Tigres form (all competitions):

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Houston Dynamo form (all competitions):

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Team News

Ozziel Herrera has made a positive start to the new season for Tigres, and the 24-year-old is set to be in the starting side against Houston Dynamo in the Leagues Cup.

There are not expected to be any real surprises when it comes to the starting XIs, with veteran goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman set to feature between the sticks, while there will be a spot at centre-forward for Angel Correa, who has joined Tigres from Atletico Madrid in an eye-catching move.

As for Houston Dynamo, Andrew Tarbell, Daniel Steres and Nelson Quinones are out of the contest due to injury problems, but no fresh issues have been reported.

Ezequiel Ponce has been in excellent form for the MLS outfit this season, scoring nine times in 24 appearances, and he will feature in the final third of the field.

Meanwhile, there will also be a spot in the side for Ondrej Lingr, who has three goals in 18 appearances this term.

Tigres possible starting lineup:

Guzman; Aquino, Romulo, Purata, Garza; Lainez, Gorriaran, Brunetta, Herrera; Correa, Ibanez

Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:

Bond; Dorsey, Ortiz, Bartlow, Escobar; Junior Urso, Artur; McGlynn, Kowalczyk, Lingr; Ponce

We say: Tigres 2-1 Houston Dynamo

We are expecting this to be a close match, but Correa's arrival at Tigres has boosted their attack to a huge extent, and we are backing the Mexican side to record a 2-1 victory in this Leagues Cups fixture.

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