Troy Lesesne knows his D.C. United team must improve in possession if they are to end their miserable run of form when the Houston Dynamo visit Audi Field on Saturday.

D.C. have slipped to 11th in the Eastern Conference standings by failing to win any of their last seven matches, their last victory coming against Atlanta United on May 12.

They were beaten 1-0 in a rematch with the Five Stripes in midweek, leading Lesesne to lament their failings with the ball.

"It's a tough position to be in right now," Lesesne said. 

"Everyone's frustrated — that's clear to see — but at the same time we're not doing enough to earn ourselves points, and that's the truth. We have to demand more.

"When you're playing at home you can't allow a team to come into a game. There are periods in the games where we just don't do enough and that's disappointing.

"We defend quite well and press quite well, but with the ball right now we need to be better, we need to be more composed in certain areas of the game."

Houston, meanwhile, are eighth in the Western Conference after registering three successive 2-2 draws, the latest seeing them blow a 2-0 lead against the Seattle Sounders.

Head coach Ben Olsen was infuriated by the way they failed to make a positive performance count in that match, saying: "It was a poor result and it's happened too many times where we've done so much good, then shot ourselves in the foot.

"We don't score the extra goal and then we let them back into the game through complacency, it's a recurring thing."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

D.C. United – Christian Benteke 

Benteke won 10 of 12 aerial duels for D.C. United last time out, his 11th match this season with at least 10 aerial duel wins. All other MLS players combined have four such games.

Houston Dynamo – Latif Blessing 

Blessing scored both of the Dynamo's goals in their draw with Seattle on Wednesday and has now scored five goals in his last five games. 

He had managed just three goals in his previous 110 regular-season appearances dating back to the start of the 2020 season.

MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

Houston could become just the second team in MLS history to play out four draws in a row while scoring more than once in every game, but they will be hopeful of going one better with a win.

D.C. have lost five of their last seven matches (two draws), including their last two in a row.

They had only lost five of their previous 20 (six wins, nine draws) in a run dating back to the beginning of September 2023. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

D.C. United – 33.8%

Houston Dynamo – 40.5%

Draw – 25.7%

Phil Neville believes Portland Timbers' hard work is starting to show ahead of their game against Houston Dynamo on Saturday.

The Timbers have won three of their last four games, including both at home in that run, and sit ninth in the Western Conference.

Against Austin FC on Wednesday, they kept their first clean sheet of the season with a 2-0 victory.

Neville is hopeful Portland can continue to build on their recent momentum as they look to close the gap to the teams above them.

"There's a good cohesion to the team and a good structure. The players are now doing their jobs and doing it to the ability that you expect," Neville said.

"The last two or three games we've seen a continuation of the work we've been doing. We knew we had a lot of work to do to change things here and that it would take time, and I'm super proud of them all.

"If we really believe in what we're doing and have confidence to be the team that we can be, then we have to go again on Saturday. There's no looking back and resting on your laurels. You've got to be ruthless and got to be relentless."

Houston sit eighth in the league, two points better off than Saturday's opponents, and won 3-1 against Colorado Rapids in midweek.

"This is a team that is always thinking to go forward," assistant coach Juan Guerra said.

"We're very focused on playing attractive possession style soccer to go forward and be able to create opportunities. On [Wednesday], it went in, and I hope it keeps going in, starting with Saturday."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Portland Timbers – Evander

Evander scored his seventh goal of the season on Wednesday to go along with five assists in his 12 appearances this season. The only other Timbers player to record 12 goal contributions in his first 12 games of a season was Diego Valeri in his 2017 MVP season.

Houston Dynamo – Latif Blessing

Blessing has found the net in consecutive games for the first time in almost five years, since doing so for Los Angeles FC in August 2019.

Blessing's two goals in the last week came after he had scored just two goals in his previous 89 MLS appearances dating back to the start of the 2021 season.

MATCH PREDICTION: PORTLAND TIMBERS WIN

With their win at Austin on Wednesday, the Timbers have won three of their last four matches (L1) after winning just two of their first 12 matches this season (D4 L6). Portland's 2-0 win over Austin on Wednesday also ended a run of 20 straight matches allowing a goal.

However, the Dynamo have won three straight matches against Portland after going winless in the previous eight meetings (D3 L5). Neither team have managed four straight wins over the other in all competitions.

Houston won for just the second time in nine matches in all competitions with a 3-1 victory over Colorado on Wednesday. It was the Dynamo's first three-goal performance since their last visit to Portland, a 3-1 win on Decision Day last season.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Portland Timbers – 42.1%

Draw – 26.7%

Houston Dynamo – 31.2%

Djordje Mihailovic believes the Colorado Rapids should be grouped among the best teams in the Western Conference as they prepare for a trip to the Houston Dynamo.

The Rapids have won just one of their last four games, but a point against Minnesota United in a 3-3 draw was enough to keep them sixth in the table.

Colorado are now looking to get back to winning ways, and Mihailovic is hoping their form against the rest of the top six can translate against Houston.

"Last year wasn't great, and we're trying to move on, but we can't forget - it's the club's history," Mihailovic said.

"To know we're good against the top six in the West [only losing once], I think it shows we belong in that conversation. I know people won't say that on the outside, but we believe that in our group.

"It says a lot when we weren't happy with a draw [against Minnesota]. Now we go to Houston and Vancouver before our break, and it's a good opportunity to move up in the standings."

Houston sit four points behind Colorado in eighth place, but the teams below them are staying within touching distance.

After failing to win any of their last three matches, head coach Ben Osborn was asked what was missing from the team’s performances.

He said: "Goals are missing - finishing off some of these chances and I think the other part that's missing is understanding how to win games, or tie them, and find these moments where we are just more disciplined at times, so I think it's a combination of those two."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Latif Blessing

Blessing scored his first goal of the season on Saturday, the tenth different Dynamo player to find the net this season. He is one of nine to have just one goal this year, as only Ibrahim Aliyu (four goals) has scored multiple times for Houston in regular-season play in 2024.

Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro

Navarro has the longest active goalscoring streak in MLS, having found the net in five straight appearances. Navarro is the third Rapids player to score in five straight regular-season matches after Omar Cummings in 2010 and John Spencer, who did so in six straight games in 2003.

MATCH PREDICTION – HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

Houston have won consecutive matches against Colorado after winning just two of the previous 16 meetings dating back to 2016 (seven draws, seven defeats). This is the Dynamo's first set of consecutive wins over Colorado since 2008-09.

However, the Dynamo's 2-1 defeat at the LA Galaxy on Saturday was their fifth loss in their last nine regular-season matches (two wins, two draws). Houston had suffered just two defeats in their previous 17 league matches dating back to last July.

Colorado came from 3-1 down in the final 30 minutes to draw Minnesota 3-3 on Saturday, ending a run of 19 straight losses when trailing by multiple goals. It marked the sixth time in team history, and first at home, that the Rapids had avoided defeat despite trailing by multiple goals after the hour mark.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 55.2%

Draw – 24.3%

Colorado Rapids – 20.4%