The Houston Dynamo host Austin FC in the second Copa Tejas derby of 2022 at PNC Stadium.

Last week, Houston fell to Dallas 2-1 in the first Texas showdown this year in the 93rd minute, snapping a six-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

A 3-0 victory over Vancouver put Austin into second place in the Western Conference standings and gave the Verde and Black its first three-match winning streak in franchise history.

Team news

Houston Dynamo

Teenage Hedebe will be back in the side after missing the defeat to Dallas through suspension. The Dynamo will be without Daniel Steres (L Leg). Darwin Quintero (R Leg) is listed as questionable. 

Austin FC

Freddy Kleemann is out after undergoing ACL surgery, while Cecilio Dominguez is suspended indefinitely due to an off-field incident.

Ones to watch

Darwin Quintero (Houston Dynamo)

Despite the addition of Sebastian Ferreira (who has played well so far), it's still the Colombian who is the engine behind the Houston attack.

Even though he's onkly played 473 minutes on the season, he's proven to be incredibly effective, scoring four times and picking up an assist, which came in last week's defeat to Dallas.

Embed from Getty Images

Maxi Urruti (Austin FC)

It's certainly going to be a big game for Urruti on a personal level as he spent last season in Houston. He comes in having scored twice in the rout of Vancouver last week and is another weapon for head coach Josh Wolff to utilize.

Predicted lineups

Houston Dynamo: Clark; Lundqvist, Hadebe, Parker, Dorsey; Rodriguez, Vera, Quintero; Picault, Ferreira, Baird

Austin FC: Stuver; Lima, Cascante, Gabrielsen, Jimenez; Ring, Pereira; Finlay, Driussi, Fagundez; Urruti

Previous meetings

Austin won two of three meetings against Houston last year with the Verde and Black claiming a 2-1 victory last October.

In the sixth minute, Austin were awarded a penalty when Zarek Valentin took down Cecilio Dominguez in the box. The Paraguayan stepped up to the spot, his shot going off of the left post and skipped across the goalmouth off the right post, then bounced in off goalkeeper Marko Maric for an own goal.

Maric denied Moussa Djitte in the 36th minute and four minutes later, Darwin Quintero nearly equalized at the other end with a free-kick just outside the box.

Sebastian Driussi added a second after weaving his way into the box, gathering in a pass from Alex Ring and beating Maric.

The Argentine playmaker then nearly scored in the 72nd minute, going just over the bar and Maric denied him eight minutes later.

It looked to be a clean sheet for the Verde and Black, but an own goal by Julio Cascante off of a deflection from a Nick Lima clearance made the final few moments interesting, but Austin hung on.

How to watch

The match will be streamed nationally on ESPN. TUDN will carry the English-language broadcast while UniMas has the Spanish-language broadcast.

Kickoff is set for 1:30pm Eastern time.

VAVEL Logo
About the author