Behind Enemy Lines: Houston Dynamo Reconnaissance 🔎

The final stop of the Texas Derby is here. FC Dallas will face the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night at BBVA Stadium.

A victory for FC Dallas will allow them to retain El Capitan for a third consecutive season.

Note: Houston plays Austin tonight, so some of this screening could be changed depending on the outcome of that game.

Key player: Hector Herrera

Everything always goes through Herrera with Dynamo. Even playing down a man for 85 minutes a few weeks ago in Dallas, when Herrera entered the field, the Dynamo was ultimately able to push the ball towards their own offensive end. He scored last week in Kansas City, so the juices are probably starting to flow for him and their offense now.

Key Match: Hector Herrera vs. Liam Fraser

It’s a classic Mexico-Canada midfield clash. Fraser has been quietly good for FC Dallas this season by slowing down some key opposition players. If he can prevent Herrera from finding those spaces in the attack, Dallas will have a good chance to score points in this one.

Availability report:

Suspended: none
Absent: Sebastian Ferreira (lower body), Nelson Quinones (knee)
Questionable: Franco Escobar (lower body)
On loan: none
International law: none

Attack in difficulty: Much like FC Dallas, Dynamo have struggled to find the net so far in 2024. As of this writing, they have scored 11 goals, the second-fewest total in MLS.

Last victory against FCD at home: FC Dallas last lost to Houston near the end of the 2021 season. This match also saw the end of the Luchi Gonzalez era, as he was fired following the defeat.

Potential programming:

Ben Olsen has settled into a 4-3-3 this season and could rotate some of those players after their match on Wednesday against Austin.

Clark, Steres, Micael, Bartlow, Dorsev; Arthur, Herrera, Carrasquilla; Bassi, Kowalczyk, Blessing

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1. Use the passion of rivalry: We’ve seen several different versions of FC Dallas this season against their rivals. They were calm and collected at home to get the job done against Austin and Houston. On the road in Austin, this was a team that looked much more timid. FC Dallas needs to come out strong on Saturday, as it did both times at home against Austin and Houston, to get early scoring chances.

2. Continue to grow that connection: Petar Musa’s goal and assist last week was great to see, but the setup of his assist to Jesus Ferreira should give Dallas fans a lot of good feelings about the direction this club can take this season. These two need more time together on the court, and this is another opportunity to develop that partnership.

3. Stay strong defensively: The main topic of discussion in the locker room after Houston’s first game was how they expected a big battle in the second leg. Defensively, Dallas must continue to do what it has mainly done for the past month and a half: limit good opportunities on goal while stretching the opposition on the wings in transition.