Houston Dynamo will attempt to claim a third consecutive victory when they welcome San Jose Earthquakes to the Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday.
San Jose, meanwhile, will be hoping to clinch another positive result after recording their first victory of the MLS season last weekend.
Match preview
After taking just one point from their first two matches of the season, Houston have managed to get their campaign up and running with back-to-back 1-0 victories.
Ibrahim Aliyu's first-half effort proved enough to edge past Portland Timbers, before Bradley Smith scored a dramatic 96th-minute winner to snatch all three points in last Saturday's away game against Colorado Rapids.
With seven points to their name after four matches, Ben Olsen's side currently occupy seventh position in the Western Conference.
After enjoying success on their travels last week, Houston will now return to the Shell Energy Stadium, where they have lost just once in their last 10 home regular season games.
The hosts will have fond memories of their most recent home game against San Jose in June 2023 when they produced a free-scoring display to claim a 4-1 victory.
San Jose's 2024 campaign got off to a disastrous start, losing their opening four matches by a combined 9-3 scoreline.
Fortunately for San Jose, they managed to end their wait for a win in last Sunday's home meeting with Seattle Sounders despite giving up a two-goal lead at PayPal Park.
Vitor Costa and Cristian Espinoza saw their first-half goals cancelled out by Seattle, before substitute Jeremy Ebobisse found the net to secure San Jose three much-needed points.
With the Earthquakes languishing in 12th spot in the Western Conference, they will be determined to claim consecutive MLS victories for the first time since July/August last year.
However, their hopes of claiming maximum points may be tempered by the fact that they have failed to win any of their last seven MLS away matches.
Team News
Houston are still unable to call upon midfielder Hector Herrera and winger Nelson Quinones, who are both ruled out due to knee problems.
Amine Bassi and Erik Sviatchenko have been struggling with hamstring issues, and they both remain doubts for Saturday's contest.
Adalberto Carrasquilla the 25-year-old could return to the starting lineup after missing the win over Colorado due to international duty.
As for the visitors, they have confirmed that goalkeeper Daniel will miss around four to six months after undergoing hamstring surgery.
With fellow shot-stopper JT Marcinkowski currently out with a long-term knee injury, William Yarbrough is set to be given an extended run of games after coming into the side for the 3-2 win over Seattle.
San Jose are also expected to be without the services of defender Carlos Akapo, who has been absent from the last three matchday squads due to a foot problem.
Ousseni Bouda and Carlos Gruezo are both available for selection after returning from international duty with Burkino Faso and Ecuador respectively.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Dorsey, Micael, Bartlow, Escobar; Gregus, Artur, Carrasquila, Kowalczyk, Aliyu; Segal
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Marie, Wilson, Rodrigues, Costa; Yueill, Morales, Gruezo; Espinoza, Kikanovic, Ebobisse
We say: Houston Dynamo 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes
While San Jose would have taken confidence from their win over Seattle, they have lost both of their opening two away games by a 2-1 scoreline.
We think that they could fall to another away defeat against a Houston side that are slowly building momentum following back-to-back victories.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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