Pairing portends a real shootout

Ibrahimovic, Elis among league’s leading scorers

Two of Major League Soccer’s best attacking talents square off when the Dynamo host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night.

The Dynamo, who have earned just five points in their last six games, will look to re-establish last season’s home-field advantage against a club that features prolific Swedish goal scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“They have quality players. On paper, it’s a very tough roster and superior in all aspects of the quality and experienced players,” Dynamo coach Wilmer Cabrera said. “The good thing is that this is all about the team. Right now, they’re trying to adjust as a team. We are more adjusted than them, and if we make the adjustments and fix the details then we are confident that we can go and beat them, especially because it’s at home and we are better at home.”

Galaxy’s star power

The Galaxy (3-4-1) signed Ibrahimovic from Manchester United two games into the 2018 season. In three matches started he has scored three goals and recorded two assists. The team also features Mexican internationals Giovani and Jonathan Dos Santos, who have each scored a goal.

But despite L.A.’s star power, the Dynamo (2-3-2) have mustered more shots attempted and shots on goal with one less game played. Forward Alberth Elis, who scored in last Saturday’s loss to Minnesota, leads the league with 17 shots on goal. Teammate Mauro Manotas is tied for third with 11.

Both lead the team with four goals on the year while Manotas has averaged a goal every other game in his MLS career. Forward Romell Quioto has had a hand in all six of the Dynamo’s goals the last two weeks.

But for the Dynamo’s backline, it’s been a story of bending and breaking.

“We cannot make mistakes right now in the back because we are getting punished with goals,” Cabrera

said. “We have been playing well. We’ve been playing more solidly, but we need to adjust those details, and if we adjust those details we’re going to be able to get better results, and we’re going to win, which is the most important thing.”

Added goalkeeper Joe Willis: “They have great quality players. They are dynamic going forward. They bring a lot of different things and Zlatan obviously, is a unique player. He’s got qualities that most people in this league haven’t seen before. So it’s something fresh, it’s a new challenge. But I think that as long as we play our game and are defensively organized, I think we will be all right.”

After having the best home record in the Western Conference a season ago, the Dynamo have struggled to win at BBVA Compass Stadium with a 2-2 record there two months into the season.

“We need to improve in some errors that we have made because those errors have cost us goals. We haven’t had the luck to win, but we need to keep working, correct the errors and keep the zero that is important to the defenders,” defender Alejandro Fuenmayor said. “To us, it is important to win again, and we need to win at home, and hopefully the fans can come support us.”

Parity in MLS

With the next five matches offering a mixed bag in terms of competition, Cabrera is embracing Saturday’s opponent, although he sees a small degree of separation between most MLS teams.

“We we don’t consider any team easier than any other, not in MLS. Maybe in other leagues, but in MLS you can win any game and you can lose any game at any moment,” he said. “That is the beauty of the MLS. We have just to go game by game, and we’re going to take every game as it comes.”