The Houston Dynamo and Toronto FC both will look to solidify their playoff prospects when they resume league play in Texas on Saturday night following a two-week break from all competition.
Both sides exited the Leagues Cup during the round of 32, with Houston falling on penalties to Toluca following a 2-2 draw at home and Toronto narrowly losing 4-3 at Miami.
And both return to MLS play currently holding a playoff spot, albeit with considerable work left to ensure their postseason status.
The Dynamo (10-7-7, 37 points) are tied for the sixth of seven automatic playoff berths in the Western Conference, while Toronto (9-14-3, 30 points) sits eighth in the East in the home wild-card spot.
“I think everybody’s in the same boat at this point in the season,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said this week. “I think everyone kind of has an idea of who they are, and everyone has an idea of who the opponent is at this point. There’s enough data and history on teams that you have a good feel for it. So you’re going to have to be at your best. We keep saying we’re going to have to be the best version of ourselves over the next 10 games to accomplish our goal.”
But the Dynamo have the potential to look a bit different from who they were over the first two thirds of the regular season.
Striker Ezequiel Ponce scored his first goal for Houston in the draw against Toluca after he officially joined the Dynamo at the start of the secondary transfer window. Lawrence Ennali also joined the fold before the tournament ended after completing a transfer in mid-July.
Toronto was less active, with midfielder/defender Henry Wingo the only major piece added on a free transfer after he began the season with the Seattle Sounders.
Even so, Toronto coach John Herdman believes his squad — headlined by Italian stars Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi — is good enough to challenge the league’s elite down the stretch.
“It’s about building chemistry. We’ve got some big matches coming up,” Herdman said following the loss to Miami. “There’s an element of just emotional reset, that’s got to be the case. There will be some reflection. We were on a good run until this game.”
Insigne (thigh) is questionable for Saturday.
–Field Level Media