New England vs Houston Dynamo preview

United States flag 2026 Major League Soccer, United States
Boston Stadium Today - 8:30 PM
Major League Soccer
New EnglandNER
Houston DynamoHOU
KICKOFF : Today - 8:30 PM
Regular Season

CONTEXT

New England welcome Houston Dynamo to Boston Stadium for a Major League Soccer regular season clash in 2026. The visitors arrive as the marginally stronger outfit on power metrics with a narrow three point advantage. League positions place New England third and Houston Dynamo fourth in the domestic standings. Recent form readings show the away side ahead on their respective scores. Both teams operate without detailed last outing records entering this fixture. Power ratings remain close overall suggesting a competitive encounter on the pitch. Venue conditions at Boston Stadium will play their part in proceedings. The match offers a chance for either side to strengthen their standing in the table.

TL;DR

  • Structural: New England occupy third place while Houston Dynamo sit fourth in the domestic league table.
  • Form: Houston Dynamo lead with a form score of 25.22 against New England's 14.5.
  • Squad: Both squads feature in the same domestic competition with New England holding the higher position.
  • Efficiency: Efficiency data is unavailable for either side ahead of the fixture.
  • Transition: Transition metrics are not provided for this regular season match.
  • Set pieces: Set piece information carries low confidence with no xG metrics available.
  • xVariable: Houston Dynamo hold a power score of 64.96 to New England's 62.01.
  • Market: New England 0% (Δ+0%) | Draw 0% (Δ+0%) | Houston Dynamo 0% (Δ+0%).
No standings statistics available.
No head-to-head records found.
0.5+ goals: 85%
1.5+ goals: 70%
2.5+ goals: 50%
3.5+ goals: 25%
Confidence: High (≥8 matches)

Quality vs Volume

Home: xG 1.8, Shots 12, xG/Shot 0.15
Away: xG 1.5, Shots 14, xG/Shot 0.11

Open Play vs Set Play

Open Play: 65%
Set Play: 35%

Expected Points

TeamxPts
Home1.8
Away1.2
ℹ️ Methodology: Expected Goals (xG) measures shot quality
Jan 25 vs Team A
Feb 1 vs Team B
Feb 8 vs Team C
New England M. Mitrovic
M. Mitrovic
VS
Houston Dynamo B. Olsen
B. Olsen
1.76
Avg Points / Game (Last 100 Matches)
1.71
1.33 i
Last 6 Opponents
CF Montréal Rank: 60 D
Atlanta United Rank: 55 W
Toronto Rank: 57 D
Charlotte Rank: 65 L
Minnesota United Rank: 65 W
Nashville SC Rank: 72 L
Avg Points / Game (Last 6 Matches)
1.83 i
Last 6 Opponents
Sporting KC Rank: 55 W
Austin Rank: 59 W
DC United Rank: 55 D
LA Galaxy Rank: 61 D
Vancouver Whitecaps Rank: 73 W
Real Salt Lake Rank: 64 L
0
Head to Head (Wins - Draws - Losses)
0 - 0 - 1
1
No sidelined player data available.

Team Power Ranking

i
What is Power Ranking?
Power ranking is SportMonks' model-based team strength indicator. Historical input capped to 2 seasons.
62.01
64.96
0 (Weakest) 100 (Strongest)
Metric
New England
Houston Dynamo
Power Score
62.01
64.96
League Position
3
4
Global Rank
519
412

Form Analysis Opponent-Weighted

Line chart of recent results (points/trend). Friendlies excluded by default. Hover for opponent, result, xG/xGA and power ranking — based on last 6 matches.

–
vs
New England — Opponent-weighted form score
Houston Dynamo — Opponent-weighted form score
Win (3 pts) Draw (1 pt) Loss (0 pts) New England Houston Dynamo

Team Head to Head Last 6 Seasons

Summary of 1 match between these sides — filtered by competition and venue context.

New England NER Home
1 matches
Houston Dynamo HOU Away
Match Record
0
Wins
1
0
Draws
0
1
Losses
0
Goals
1
Goals Scored
2
2
Goals Conceded
1
-1
Goal Difference
+1
Expected Goals
0
xG
0
0
xGA
0

Data last updated: 2026-08-08T19:30:27+00:00

STARTING XI - EXPECTED

Pitch
M. Turner
30 M. Turner
M. Polster
8 M. Polster
E. Kohler
22 E. Kohler
M. Fofana
2 M. Fofana
W. Sands
23 W. Sands
C. Gil de Pareja Vicent
10 C. Gil de Pareja Vicent
B. Raines
21 B. Raines
A. Yusuf
80 A. Yusuf
P. Miller
25 P. Miller
D. Turgeman
11 D. Turgeman
M. Zambrano-Delgado
17 M. Zambrano-Delgado

General Information

Date & Time
Aug 08, 2026, 08:30 PM
Competition
2026 Major League Soccer, United States · Regular Season
Stadium
Boston Stadium
Capacity
66829
Pitch Surface
Artificial turf
Weather
☀️ 12°C, Fair
Referees
Malik Badawi
Corey Parker
Kyle Atkins
Ricardo Montero

Expected Lineup

Referee : Malik Badawi

Starting XI ▼

30
Matt Turner
Matt Turner Goalkeeper
7.26
25
Peyton Miller
Peyton Miller Attacker
6.88
17
Marcos Zambrano
Marcos Zambrano Attacker
6.55
11
Dor Turgeman
Dor Turgeman Centre Forward
6.98
23
Will Sands
Will Sands Left Back
6.89
2
Mamadou Fofana
Mamadou Fofana Left Back
7.09
21
Brooklyn Raines
Brooklyn Raines Central Midfield
6.79
10
Carles Gil
Carles Gil Central Midfield
7.56
80
Alhassan Yusuf
Alhassan Yusuf Central Midfield
6.97
8
Matt Polster
Matt Polster Right Back
6.62
22
Ethan Kohler
Ethan Kohler Right Back
6.89
Referee : Malik Badawi

Starting XI ▼

31
Jonathan Bond
Jonathan Bond Goalkeeper
6.93
20
Guilherme
Guilherme Midfielder
7.95
8
Jack McGlynn
Jack McGlynn Midfielder
7.5
10
Ezequiel Ponce
Ezequiel Ponce Centre Forward
6.54
34
Agustin Resch
Agustin Resch Left Back
6.76
6
Artur
Artur Defensive Midfield
6.84
5
Lucas Halter
Lucas Halter Right Back
6.89
11
Lawrence Ennali
Lawrence Ennali Left Back
6.77
18
Diadié Samassékou
Diadié Samassékou Central Midfield
6.67
16
Héctor Herrera
Héctor Herrera Central Midfield
6.96
36
Felipe
Felipe Right Back

CONCLUSION

Houston Dynamo carry a slight overall edge into this Boston Stadium meeting yet the narrow power gap leaves room for New England to compete strongly. League positions indicate both sides remain in contention for strong finishes. Form readings favor the visitors but home advantage could shift momentum. Limited supporting data on efficiency and set pieces means focus stays on core team strengths. The regular season context adds importance as points matter for final standings. Expect a measured contest where small details decide the outcome between these closely matched teams.