Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy on upswing, ready to face off before World Cup break

The Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy have played some of their best soccer of the season in advance of their clash on Saturday in Carson, Calif. Now the goal is to carry that momentum into this meeting and through the upcoming lengthy break that's on the immediate horizon.

It's the final game for both teams before MLS' two-month World Cup break. The Dynamo (7-6-0, 21 points) head to the weekend in sixth place, two points clear of the Galaxy (5-5-4, 19 points) in the West standings.

Houston travels to Southern California after a loss in a penalty shootout at St. Louis City on Wednesday that knocked them out of the U.S. Open Cup.

"It was a little disappointing at the end, especially losing in PKs after what was a good performance," Houston coach Ben Olsen said. "The guys played really hard -- they were up for it after a quick turnaround."

The Dynamo have won three of their past four league matches, most recently a 1-0 decision at home over Vancouver on May 16 that was produced by Guilherme Santos' goal six minutes into second-half stoppage time and with the Whitecaps a man down.

"We've got to patch them up," Olsen said of his team's fitness. "We've had a good little run here. We are starting to understand that this is the way we are playing and what makes us a good team, and that's a positive."

Santos, signed as a designated player by Houston in the offseason, leads the team with seven goals (equaling the total of the next three Dynamo goal scorers) and five assists.

The Galaxy return home after a three-match road trip and a 2-0 win at Seattle on May 16 that snapped a 10-game road losing streak against the Sounders.

Gabriel Pec had a goal and an assist in the win, Matheus Nascimento had LA's second goal two minutes into second-half stoppage time and JT Marcinkowski stopped five shots to secure his first clean sheet in 10 regular-season starts.

Los Angeles is 3-1-1 in its last five MLS matches.

"We have the confidence in this locker room that, no matter who we're playing or where we're playing, that we're going to go out there and fight for three points," Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said.

"Our mentality is a starting point for us. The intensity, making sure that we're in every single game. We're competing with each other and for each other, and just doing all the little details, is the most important."

The Galaxy own a 17-15 lead in the all-time series with the Dynamo with 13 draws that included both matches in 2025.

--Field Level Media