New York City FC vs. Houston Dynamo: 2017 MLS Match Preview

New York City FC vs. Houston Dynamo 2017 MLS Regular Season Pratt & Whitney Stadium  East Hartford, Conn. Saturday, September 23 – 3 pm ET WATCH: UniMás, Facebook.com in US | MLS LIVE in Canada

The Houston Dynamo travel to the East Coast this weekend, searching for their second road win of the season in an attempt to break their current slump. Luckily for them, the stadium they will be playing in is not the one they would be typically entering when playing New York City FC.

Saturday afternoon's match will be taking place in East Hartford, Conn. after a scheduling conflict forced the home team to change venues. NYCFC are winless in their last two, having lost at home to the Portland Timbers on Sept. 9 and earned a draw on the road at Colorado last week. They are likely to have their captain back in the starting XI after David Villa returned to the field for an 18-minute cameo against the Rapids.

Houston arrive in Connecticut on a worrying run of form, having lost three of their last four, causing them to drop below the playoff line for the first time this season. They travel across the country for this matchup after losing 1-0 at San Jose last weekend. After this trip they will be able to have some time in their friendly confines in the chase for the team's first playoff appearance since 2013, with their next three games all coming at BBVA Compass Stadium.

New York City FC

Projected Starting XI (4-3-3): GK: Sean Johnson — RJ Allen, Frederic Brillant, Alexander Callens, Ben Sweat — Andrea Pirlo, Tommy McNamara, Maxi Moralez — Rodney Wallace, David Villa, Jack Harrison

Notes: The teams are meeting for the third time ever, and NYCFC have come away with points in the first two. The teams reached a 1-1 draw in their first meeting, at Yankee Stadium, in NYCFCs inaugural season in 2015. Last year, NYCFC claimed a 2-0 win Sept. 20 at BBVA Compass Stadium behind a pair of David Villa goals.

Houston Dynamo

Projected Starting XI(4-3-3): Tyler Deric— A.J. DeLaGarza, Adolfo Machado, Leonardo, DaMarcus Beasley — Juan David Cabezas, Ricardo Clark, Alex — Alberth Elis, Erick "Cubo" Torres, Romell Quioto

Notes: The Dynamo suffered a second consecutive defeat as their winless run stretched to four matches, falling 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium. Its the second time this season the Dynamo have suffered back-to-back defeats, also May 17 (0-2 vs. Philadelphia) and May 20 (1-4 at Atlanta). The four-game winless run matches the club’s longest for the season (also: June 4-July 1).