PREVIEW: FC Dallas Hosts Houston Dynamo in 2026 Texas Derby
Coming off a gutsy 3-3 draw against San Diego, Dallas hosts the Dynamo for the first Texas Derby match of 2026.
Let’s look at where the teams are coming into the game, projected lineups, and some keys for FC Dallas to come away with all three points and take a big step in bringing El Capitan back to Frisco.
Both clubs enter the Derby off the backs of positive results. Dallas came back from 2 goal deficits twice against San Diego to earn a 3-3 draw, while Houston scored a game-winning goal fifteen minutes into second-half stoppage time to take all 3 points at home against Portland. Houston, with 6 points, sits just ahead of Dallas, which has 5 points in the table.
In 2025, each team won away, with Dallas coming out on top in the season opener at Shell Energy Stadium and Houston winning at Toyota Stadium in Frisco for the first time in years.
Dallas will hope to make that a one-and-done situation and get back to beating the Dynamo in Frisco, something that felt like a foregone conclusion for years.
Projected Lineups
FC Dallas
I think Quill will go with a “run it back” lineup against Houston. Houston’s ball possession numbers are very low; they’re actually even lower than FCD’s at this point, but Houston has only played 3 games this season, and one of those games, the home game against LAFC, really skews their possession number as they played with 9 men for a chunk of the game and only had 29% possession on the game.
Houston isn’t as focused on possession as it once was, but it’s still largely how Ben Olsen wants to play. With that in mind, I think Quill and his staff elect to try the high-pressing setup that was very effective against San Diego, with more of a 3-4-3 look rather than the 3-5-2 (or 5-3-2, if you prefer) seen in the previous games. This means Logan Farrington stays on the bench with Kaick and Joaquin Valiente operating as “10s” in front of Cappis and Ramiro as holding midfielders.
The switch-foot wingbacks experiment should be over after the first 30 minutes against San Diego. It may be seen in certain moments, but I suspect we’ll see Kamungo and Johansson line up on their strong sides.
The final question is at the center back. Osaze Urhoghide was questionable last week and missed out, reportedly due to a groin issue. With the Norris/Ibeagha/Moore pairing quite solid against San Diego and Osaze such a big part of the team, I think they will stick with the pairing from last Saturday and give Osaze another week to recover from his injury.
Houston Dynamo
Ben Olsen has joined the back 3 club in MLS, at least to some extent. Houston used this shape to mount a comeback last Saturday against Portland, and I suspect they’ll roll it back out to match up with Dallas across the field. Duane Holmes has become a makeshift right-back, quite a development for the former USMNT midfielder. McGlynn will pull the strings in midfield while Samssekou operates in a more defensive role.
Lawrence Ennali will be a handful on the right side of the Dallas defense, as he is one of the fastest players in the league. Houston’s retooled forward attack now features former LAFC forward Mateus Bogusz, new DP Guilherme, and returning DP striker Ezequiel Ponce. They’ve been productive thus far and will be a tough task for the FCD backline to handle.
Keys to 3 Points
1) Musa, Musa, Musa
FCD’s lone DP is coming off a game in which he made club history. With his three-goal performance, he became the first player in club history to record two hat tricks in MLS regular-season play. Of Dallas’ six goals in 2026, Musa has scored 5 of them, bringing him joint top of the Golden Boot race alongside Vancouver’s Brian White.
Simply put, Dallas needs to get the ball to Musa, and good things will happen. He has done a great job of balancing dropping deep to help in possession and build out while also finding his usual spaces in the box to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Houston is likely to be laser-focused on stopping Musa at all costs, so if opportunities do arise for his teammates, they have to be ready, but ultimately, at least right now, FCD goes the way Musa goes, and if he can get a goal on the scoresheet, it seems likely that Dallas will come away with 3 points.
2) Minimize Space for McGlynn
Jack McGlynn is not the most physically imposing player on the pitch and is not particularly fast, but he has a wand of a left foot, as Dallas saw firsthand in last season’s game at Toyota Stadium, where McGlynn hit a banger from well outside the box for the game-winning goal. Dallas afforded him too much space, and he made them regret it.
The Burn can not make the same mistake in 2026. Ramiro, Cappis, and whoever else ends up in the midfield with them have to always know where McGlynn is at all times and not afford him the time and space to pick up his head and deliver balls in behind the Dallas backline. When the ball is in the defensive third, Dallas has to ensure that any time the ball comes to McGlynn, he is closed down quickly and not allowed to tee up a shot on Michael Collodi’s goal.
The Dallas defense has been excellent at preventing chances in open play thus far in 2026. Keeping Jack McGlynn quiet will be huge in continuing that trend on Saturday.
3) Keep Your Head Until the Final Whistle
Houston has two wins this season, both coming from second-half comebacks, and in their most recent win against Portland, they scored the game-winning goal in the 15th minute of stoppage time. On a night that is going to be very, very warm for this time of year (should be around 90 degrees at kickoff), Dallas will need to keep their heads right until the final whistle to see out any sort of result against the Dynamo.
This fixture has seen its fair share of last-minute dramatics and heroics over the years. Dallas needs to be the team delivering those heroics.
How are you feeling ahead of the first Texas Derby match of 2026?
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