Fresh off the back of a comeback win against the Chicago Fire on Matchday 1, the Houston Dynamo welcome star-studded LAFC to Shell Energy Stadium this weekend. The Dynamo have an all-time record of 5W-7L-6D against the Black and Gold, that improves to 3W-1L-4D at the Shell. The Dynamo have kept a clean sheet the last three times LAFC has visited Houston. The last time LAFC scored at Shell Energy Stadium was in August of 2022.

LAFC defeated defending MLS Cup Champions Inter Miami last week by a score of 3-0. Despite controlling just 32% of possession, LA managed to create 15 shots worth 3.26 xG, including 6 high-quality chances worth over 0.25 xG each.

Last season, LAFC ended the regular season with 61.1 xG (6th in MLS) and conceded just 34.2 xG (lowest in MLS). They also ended with 65 xPts (Most in MLS). xPts estimates how many points a team should have earned from a match based on the quality of chances created and conceded, using xG.

Key Players

Denis Bouanga

31-year-old winger - Gabon International who has tallied 143 goals+assists in just 155 appearances for LAFC. He has scored 20 goals or more in each of the last 3 MLS seasons, including 26 goals and 8 assists in 34 MLS games last season.

Son Heung-Min

33-year-old striker - Longtime Premier League star for Tottenham who made the move to LA last summer. In his first half-season in MLS he scored 12 goals and tallied 3 assists in just 13 games. He has already scored a goal and gotten 4 assists in CONCACAF Champions Cup and MLS play this season .

Stephen Eustaquio

29-year-old midfielder - Has appeared 54 times for Canada. Was signed on loan from Porto, where he made 150+ appearances including 29 games in the UCL and UEL, through the summer.

Head Coach

Marc Dos Santos

The longtime LAFC assistant coach took over after Steve Cherundolo stepped down at the end of last season. He served as the head coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps from 2018 to 2021. The Dynamo had a record of 2W-1L-1D against the Whitecaps with Dos Santos as Head Coach. Both of those wins came at Shell Energy Stadium, where the Dynamo won 3-2 and 2-1.

Last Match Staring XI (from fotmob.com)

In their last game, a CONCACAF Champions Cup fixture on Tuesday against Real Espana, LAFC played a rotated lineup as they were already up 6-1 on aggregate. This was LAFC’s lineup for their opening day 3-0 win against Miami.

2026 Roster

Goalkeepers: Cabral Carter, Thomas Hasal, Hugo Lloris

Defenders: Lorenzo Dellavalle, Ryan Hollingshead, Aaron Long, Kenny Nielsen, Sergi Palencia, Ryan Porteous, Eddie Segura, Artem Smolyakov, Nkosi Tafari

Midfielders: Amin Boudri, Mathieu Choiniere, Mark Delgado, Stephen Eustaquio, Matt Evans, Igor Jesus, Ryan Raposo, Jude Terry, Timothy Tillman

Forwards: Denis Bouanga, Tyler Boyd, Jeremy Ebobisse, David Martinez, Nathan Ordaz, Jacob Shaffelburg, Son Heung-Min, Adrian Wibowo

Enemy Scouting Report - LAFC

Previewing Houston Dynamo vs LAFC with Angels on Parade