Austin FC will look for its third consecutive win in MLS play, as well as its second consecutive road win, on Saturday night. The Verde & Black make the short trip east to face in-state rivals Houston Dynamo FC, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. CT at Shell Energy Stadium.
Tune-In
MLS Season Pass subscribers can watch the match in English or Spanish on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries.
- Stream: Click here to watch the match, or access it through any device compatible with the Apple TV app. An MLS Season Pass subscription is required.
- Radio: The match will be broadcast live locally in English on iHeart Radio’s Alt 97.5, and in Spanish on Univision’s TUDN Radio Austin (104.3-HD2, KLQB-FM).
Austin FC Outlook
After falling to St. Louis City SC in its season opener, Austin FC has responded well by winning back-to-back league matches. Maxi Urruti’s 88th-minute strike powered the Verde & Black to a 1-0 home victory over CF Montréal, and goals from Jon Gallagher and Owen Wolff helped the team earn a gritty three points last Saturday away against Real Salt Lake.
That pair of wins has Austin in fourth place in the MLS Western Conference through three weeks of the regular season, and Head Coach Josh Wolff’s side will be after more points this weekend to solidify its position in the table during this early stage of the campaign.
The Verde & Black have won each of their last three meetings with Houston and four out of the five matches between the two clubs all time. Austin’s visit to Houston in 2022 saw Dani Pereira score his first professional goal, and Sebastián Driussi scored another to seal a 2-1 win.
Though the match is between two Texan clubs on Saturday, it won’t count toward the 2023 Copa Tejas standings, given the unequal amount of games between Austin, Houston, and Dallas on the MLS schedule this season.
Houston Dynamo FC Outlook
Houston suffered two defeats to start its 2023 MLS campaign, and didn’t play a match last weekend. The Dynamo will enter Saturday on the back of a two-week break, and will be hungry to earn their first points of the season in their home opener.
The offseason brought about a fair bit of change in Houston. The Dynamo have a new head coach in Ben Olsen, who previously spent 10 years leading D.C. United. The squad features a number of fresh faces as well, including midfielder Amine Bassi, winger Iván Franco, and defenders Tate Schmitt and Franco Escobar.
Houston’s midfield duo of Héctor Herrera and Adalberto Carrasquilla are likely to be key to the team’s success this season, with both players bringing quality and high-level international experience.
Probable Houston Lineup
(4-3-3, R-L) - GK: Steve Clark; Griffin Dorsey, Ethan Bartlow, Teenage Hadebe, Tate Schmitt; Artur, Héctor Herrera, Adalberto Carrasquilla; Corey Baird, Sebastián Ferreira, Iván Franco
