Houston Dynamo FC host the Portland Timbers at 7 p.m. CT at BBVA Stadium for the third game of a four-game homestand in EaDo. The Dynamo have not won their first two matches of the homestand and look to bounce back after their second loss at BBVA Stadium this season.
The Dynamo fell to Minnesota United 2-1 last Saturday and enters Friday’s game with a 3-2-5 record at home. Adalberto Carrasquilla scored for Houston in the opening minute of the game, just 53 seconds into the match for the fastest goal scored by the Dynamo this season. Dynamo forward Fafa Picault tallied the assist, and the 30-year-old enters the game with three goals and one assist in his last four matches.
Houston and Portland split the points in their first meeting at BBVA Stadium this season, a 2-2 draw on June 23. Picault and Pasher scored for the Dynamo who look to snap a five-game winless streak against the Timbers. Houston’s last victory against the Timbers came at home in a 4-1 triumph on Sept. 15, 2018.
The Dynamo will remain in Houston and host Austin FC on Saturday, Sept. 11 in their first meeting at BBVA Stadium. Houston will look for a split of the series after falling to Austin 3-2 on Aug. 4.
Here are three key points ahead of Friday’s game:
- PICAULT KEY TO HOUSTON OFFENSE: Dynamo forward Fafa Picault has contributed to five of the last eight goals Houston has scored and the winger looks to lead the team over the hump and snap a winless streak that began earlier this summer. This is Picault’s first season with the team and the forward is one goal away from matching his second highest regular season total in MLS. The 30-year-old scored 10 goals in 2018 and that is his highest mark for a single season. Picault led the Union to the postseason in 2018 and he looks to do the same for the Dynamo in his first season with the club.
- HOUSTON LOSE FIVE PLAYERS FOR INTERNATIONAL DUTY: Five Dynamo players reported for international duty earlier this week and are projected to miss the next two Dynamo games. Darwin Ceren joined El Salvador, which host the USMNT later this evening in San Salvador. This is the first time since the 2010 cycle that El Salvador has reached this phase of the qualification stage. Adalberto Carrasquilla joined Panama and will face his teammate Ari Lassiter and Costa Rica this evening. Panama will travel to Jamaica on Sunday and Costa Rica will face Mexico prior to the third round of games next week. Boniek Garcia, Maynor Figueroa and Honduras travel to Toronto to face Canada in the opening game of the final qualification stage.
- TIMBERS SNAP WINLESS STREAK WITH KEY VICTORY IN SEATTLE: The Timbers arrived in Houston on Wednesday evening and visit BBVA Stadium with momentum after a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC at Lumen Field on Sunday. The victory gave the Timbers a share of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference and snapped a three-game winless streak that began on Aug. 7. The Timbers earned their fourth shutout of the season on Sunday and found more stability in the backline after conceding 10 goals in their previous three games.
