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The red-hot Houston Dynamo travel to surging Austin FC on Saturday in a Copa Tejas match that should be as heated as the temperature expected for the battle between rivals.

The Verde (6-8-4, 22 points) play for Lone Star State pride for the second time this week after dominating FC Dallas 3-0 on Wednesday in their first game after a 10-day break. Ethan Finlay, Diego Fagundez and Gyasi Zardes scored goals as Austin FC produced its best offensive performance of the season and beat FC Dallas in the regular season for the first time in seven meetings between the teams.

Austin’s three goals were a season high in a game this year after they scored three or more 12 times in their run to the Western Conference final in 2022. The win was more indicative of the performance expected from the Verde this season, and it could be a sign that the team is revving up for the second half of the campaign.

“We hope so,” Austin coach Josh Wolff said. “We have quality, we have good ideas with good intentions. It’s about having the consistency.”

The Dynamo heads to Austin after a 4-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday. Houston set the table for the victory by scoring twice in the game’s first 4:15. Amine Bassi and Corey Baird found the net early and Thor Ulfarsson added his first career brace with tallies in the 77th and 89th minute.

It was the third straight win in league play for the Dynamo (8-7-3, 27 points).

“The most important thing was the three points,” Houston star midfielder Hector Herrera said. “It positions us in a very good place, a place that we have been looking for. It’s an injection of confidence of what we are doing.”

Houston has captured the first two games with Austin this season, both at home. The home team has nabbed six of the seven all-time games between the teams with the Verde never losing at home to the Dynamo in three contests.

–Field Level Media