Austin FC (5-1-2) opens its Copa Tejas account for 2022 at PNC Stadium against Houston Dynamo (3-2-3) on Saturday.

What a difference a year makes. Two teams that finished at the bottom of the table last year now find themselves above the playoff line going into the match.

PNC has been a fortress in its own right for the H-Town club this season, registering no defeats in five home games. They’ll face a formidable foe in Verde though. Austin has picked up points in each of its regular-season away matches in April.

If anyone can find a chink in Houston’s armor, it will be the archer Maxi Urruti against his former club. The dude has been en fuego lately — named to the MLS Team of the Week after his brace against Vancouver.

Speaking of the Whitecaps, as a point of basic comparison, both Texas squads have played the Canadian side this season on their home turf: Houston won 2-1, and Austin won 3-0.

Overall in this Texas Derby, the home side has won all three meetings between these two clubs. The last time these two teams played in regular season, Josh Wolff’s men left Houston humiliated after the Dynamo won 3-0 in September 2021.

On Saturday, the Verde and Black will give Houston a taste of how far they’ve come since last year.

About the Opponent

Houston is coming off of a demoralizing 2-1 defeat to FC Dallas last week, when they conceded a pair of goals after the 87th minute. But before that, the Dynamo had gone five matches with zero, zip, nada losses.

In that Dallas match, forward Darwin Quintero exited with a leg injury that still has him listed as questionable this week. The Colombian designated player leads the team with four goals and an assist in 473 minutes played. It would be a significant blow to Dynamo’s chances if he was riding pine for all or most of this match.

The Dynamo may owe their resurgence this season to two new arrivals: Head Coach Paulo Nagamura and striker Sebastian Ferreira. Designated player Ferreira joined in the offseason and has racked up three goals and an assist.

Score Prediction

Bring on the snake celebration! The Argentine combo of Driussi and Urruti will be too much for Houston to handle. Look for ATX to pick up a point on the road to cap off a stellar April campaign. Verdes could get discombobulated on defense, as they are prone to do, against the two dangerous DP forwards of the Bayou City.

Final score:
Austin FC – 2
Houston Dynamo – 2

Player Injury Report

OUT – Freddy Kleemann (ACL Surgery)

Kit Matchup

Sign of good things to come? Austin will wear the OG Verde & Black-striped primary kit on the road. Stuver dons his self-professed fave grey kit. We call this a win for Austin FC on the kit match up front.

Matchday

Austin kicks off against Houston Dynamo at PNC Stadium at 12:30 pm Saturday, April 30.

• TV: UniMás (Spanish), TUDN (Spanish)
• Streaming: Twitter
• Radio: KASE-FM (Alt 97.5), KLQB-FM (104.3 HD-2) (Spanish)

Check out our full 2022 Austin FC watch schedule for more information.

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