Match Preview; Houston Dynamo v L.A. Galaxy

The Houston Dynamo and the L.A. Galaxy's 40th all-time meeting has playoff implications on Decision Day 2022. The Galaxy come to PNC Stadium needing three points to keep them in contention for a home playoff berth.

L.A. comes to Houston having lost just once in their previous five road outings. All that is good except for the simple fact that against Houston on Decision Day, things have not gone well. In 2018, the Galaxy conceded three goals in the final 30 minutes and lost not just the game but a playoff berth. 2019 was a repeat of 2018, Houston found three goals in 30 minutes and dropped a 4-2 loss on the Galaxy resulting in L.A. loss of a home playoff match. This though is 2022 and here's why it's different for L.A. this time.

Two names....Javier Hernandez and Diego Jovelijic. The question for the Galaxy is not if this duo will score but how many times will they find the back of the net. They have already accounted for 27 of L.A.'s 55 goals this season. Hernandez had a brace in his last outing on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes. He has three goals across his last matches.

Now the bad news for Los Angeles. Houston is playing some of their best soccer and come back home off a big road win in Nashville. The Dynamo are 2-1-1 over their last four outings. They have allowed less than a goal a game over that span while scoring six of their own. They are playing with a renewed sense of urgency and energy. Unde interim head coach Kenny Bundy, they believe they are going to win when they step on the pitch.

In terms of being competitive and being able to sustain points throughout the league," explained Dynamo captain Tim Parker. "It's something that we have to do better, but I think that we're able to compete in every game and get results against good teams at certain points in time."

L.A. needs the three points while Houston has nothing to lose and everything to gain by a strong outing on Sunday. 2022 may be a lost season but it's never to early to build for 2023.