Pick the Lineup against New York City FC

The Houston Dynamo's 2 game winning streak came to a halt against the LA Galaxy last Friday as Alan Gordon's late goal finished off an overall mediocre performance by the Dynamo. The referee's missed late penalty kick call could have helped the Dynamo equalize late in stoppage time, but for much of the game the team sat back and absorbed what the Galaxy could muster. Owen Coyle utilized the same starting lineup that helped earn the winning streak which featured Giles Barnes underneath Will Bruin and omitted Kofi Sarkodie from the starting unit as Raúl Rodríguez slotted in at RB to allow Jermaine Taylor and David Horst to fill in the middle of the defense.

Owen Coyle's Starting XI

The Fan Selection was identical to Coyle's starting group which made sense: don't mess with what's working. Bruin for example garnered 100% of the votes due to his recent goal scoring explosion. But, it's time to move on from that road loss and from the West Coast entirely as the team travels to the Big Apple to face expansion side and league bottom New York City FC. The Dynamo do not have anyone listed on the injury report and now tired legs from a late week charity match against Manchester City is no longer a concern due to the match's late scratch because of poor field conditions from the recent deluge (though tired legs would not likely have been a concern as starters would likely be given heavily reduced minutes).

There are a few important questions to ask before you all make your lineup selections and an observation worth a consideration as well. How does the team move on after LA's game? Does Coyle tinker and tailor his XI to the poor NYCFC defense? Or does he give that XI another chance? It's also important to note his use of substitutes against LA, notably Nathan Sturgis's early entrance for Luis Garrido. Coyle has given Sturgis plenty of praise in the past and Garrido, who has more than demonstrated his value since Sturgis's injury, played somewhat recklessly against the Galaxy. Take that observation with a grain of salt, but earlier in the year Sturgis had beaten Garrido out for the starting role so Coyle could revert to that - or a different formation entirely because Coyle has also done that before.

So who do you want to start against New York City FC? Do you give the lineup against LA a chance at redemption or do you shake things up to give other players their crack at starting? Let us know and feel free to comment below about your choices.