The Basics
Houston Dynamo at New York City FC
Saturday, August 23, 2017, 2:00 p.m. CT
Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Connecticut
Broadcast Information
UniMás – 2:00 p.m. (CHANNEL LISTINGS | WATCH IN ENGLISH)
Facebook Live (English) – 2:00 p.m.
650 AM/Radio.com app – 1:30 p.m.
Univision Radio 1010 AM – 1:30 p.m.
Preview
The Houston Dynamo travel to the East Coast this weekend, searching for their second road win of the season in an attempt to break their current slump. Luckily for them, the stadium they will be playing in is not the one they would be typically entering when playing New York City FC.
Saturday afternoon's match will be taking place in East Hartford, Conn. after a scheduling conflict forced the home team to change venues. NYCFC are winless in their last two, having lost at home to the Portland Timbers on Sept. 9 and earned a draw on the road at Colorado last week. They are likely to have their captain back in the starting XI after David Villa returned to the field for an 18-minute cameo against the Rapids.
Houston arrive in Connecticut on a worrying run of form, having lost three of their last four, causing them to drop below the playoff line for the first time this season. They travel across the country for this matchup after losing 1-0 at San Jose last weekend. After this trip they will be able to have some time in their friendly confines in the chase for the team's first playoff appearance since 2013, with their next three games all coming at BBVA Compass Stadium.
New York City FC
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: M Maximiliano Moralez
- Int’l Duty: None
- Injury Report: OUT: D Ronald Matarrita (foot surgery), M Miguel Camargo (non-displaced hip fracture), D Maxime Chanot (hernia surgery), D Ethan White (gastrocnemius strain), M Mikey Lopez (midfoot sprain), M Yangel Herrera (athletic pubalgia injury); QUESTIONABLE: M Alex Ring (toe injury)
Projected Starting XI (4-3-3): GK: Sean Johnson — RJ Allen, Frederic Brillant, Alexander Callens, Ben Sweat — Andrea Pirlo, Tommy McNamara, Maxi Moralez — Rodney Wallace, David Villa, Jack Harrison
Notes: The teams are meeting for the third time ever, and NYCFC have come away with points in the first two. The teams reached a 1-1 draw in their first meeting, at Yankee Stadium, in NYCFC’s inaugural season in 2015. Last year, NYCFC claimed a 2-0 win Sept. 20 at BBVA Compass Stadium behind a pair of David Villa goals.
Houston Dynamo
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: D Adolfo Machado
- Int’l Duty: None
- Injury Report: OUT: D George Malki (torn ACL); QUESTIONABLE: M Charlie Ward (dislocated right patella), D Philippe Senderos (right adductor strain)
Projected Starting XI (4-3-3): Tyler Deric— A.J. DeLaGarza, Adolfo Machado, Leonardo, DaMarcus Beasley — Juan David Cabezas, Ricardo Clark, Alex — Alberth Elis, Erick "Cubo" Torres, Romell Quioto
Notes: The Dynamo suffered a second consecutive defeat as their winless run stretched to four matches, falling 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium. It’s the second time this season the Dynamo have suffered back-to-back defeats, also May 17 (0-2 vs. Philadelphia) and May 20 (1-4 at Atlanta). The four-game winless run matches the club’s longest for the season (also: June 4-July 1).
All-Time Series
- Overall: NYCFC 1 win (3 goals) … Dynamo 0 wins (1 goals) … Ties 1
- At NYCFC: NYCFC 0 wins (1 goal) … Dynamo 0 wins (1 goals) … Ties 1
Referees
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referees: Jason White, Craig Lowry
Fourth Official: Jorge Gonzalez
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
