The Houston Dynamo close out a two-game road trip this Saturday as they take on FC Dallas in the first installment of the Texas Derby in 2023.

Houston is coming off back-to-back losses, losing last weekend at home to Seattle before losing again on Wednesday night in Minnesota.

The Dynamo continue to have a packed schedule as they’ll follow this game up with a Wednesday night match in the Round of 16 in the US Open Cup against Minnesota (yep, The Loons again).

Big D Soccer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Key Player: Hector Herrera

The Mexican Designated Player got to have the midweek off thanks to a red card last weekend against Seattle. Herrera has been vital to the turnaround in Houston this season under Ben Olsen. He has contributed to four of Houston’s ten goals this season (two goals, two assists).

Key Matchup: Herrera vs Facundo Quignon/Edwin Cerrilo

This one is going to come down to rotation for FC Dallas, as both players went the full 90 on Wednesday night against Vancouver. Slowing down Herrera will be key in this one. He has the ability to spray long passes and crosses in the midfield that can set up the Houston attack.

Availability Report:

Suspended: none
Out: Ifunanyachi Achara (knee), Teenage Hadebe (leg), Tate Schmitt (knee)
Questionable: Erik Sviatchenko (lower body)
On Loan: none
International duty: none

Quick Notes:

History with the Orange: Saturday's match will be the 45th all-time meeting between the Dynamo and FC Dallas. Both teams met earlier in the year for a preseason friendly at Shell Energy Stadium, and the last regular season match (July 2022) finished in a 2-2 draw in Houston.

Returning from suspension: Dynamo midfielder Hector Herrera and forward Amine Bassi return to the team after serving a one-game suspension. This will be the first Texas Derby for Bassi, who featured in the preseason friendly against Dallas.

Last win at Toyota Stadium: It has been a while since Houston got the better of Dallas on their own turf. You have to go back to 2011 when the Dynamo downed FC Dallas 1-0.

Potential Lineup:

Since Houston has a game again next Wednesday, we should expect some rotation from them as well.

Clark; Escobar, Bartlow, Micael, Smith; Artur, Herrera, Carrasquilla; Baird, Aliyu, Franco

Keys To Three Points over Houston

  1. Control your emotions - It is a Derby game after all. If you let the opposition into your head, especially at home, that has the potential for disastrous consequences. FC Dallas did well against Austin last weekend in not letting their emotions get the best of them in that rivalry game, and we’ll need a repeat of that on Saturday.
  2. Don’t give up easy stuff - The goals given up lately by FC Dallas in league play have been crap goals, like Wednesday’s goal to Vancouver when Maarten Paes poorly cleared the ball out of his penalty box. You definitely cannot give up easy chances on goal to a team like Houston. They’ve proved this season that they can find ways to put away those easy chances.
  3. Put them away - We saw this a bit on Wednesday night but I’d love to see more of it. In order to get three points, FC Dallas has to score early and then score often. Make a statement with this game that they mean business this season, especially at home. It is starting to feel like they are on the verge of making this happen too, so let’s make it count in a Derby game.