Rene Weiler is determined to get D.C. United back to winning ways against the Houston Dynamo but has hailed the team's solidity in the opening months of the season.

D.C. are ninth in the Eastern Conference and return to MLS action after the World Cup break having gone winless in their last four outings before the break (D3 L1).

However, they have lost just one of their last nine matches in the league – a 3-1 defeat to the Chicago Fire – and currently occupy the last playoff spot.

While Weiler insists he is not thinking about the postseason just yet, he believes anything is possible if D.C. keep digging in to ensure they do not leave matches empty-handed.

"I'm not looking too much at the table. I'm looking only at the performances, and of course, we will try to win more games," he said.

"It's tough to win games. It's much more difficult to win against us. So that was a big step we took forward.

"But now we have to try to win more games, and it's complicated, but I'm looking only for the next game and the next result, not at the table.

"We will see where we end up in the rankings because, at the end, you deserve what you deserve."

Houston are also enjoying a strong season, sitting seventh in the West and losing just one of their five games leading up to the World Cup hiatus.

The Dynamo won a friendly against America de Cali 2-1 during the break, and Ben Olsen says he and his team are more than ready to get back to MLS action.

"We're ready to get the season going again," he said after that friendly. "We want to turn the page.

"We want to get to the league. The second 'pre-season' is new for us, and it's tricky at times, but we've learned as we go about what we've done well and what we could improve."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Jonathan Bond

Bond has delivered a clean sheet in each of his last three home matches in MLS play.

The only goalkeepers to have a longer streak of home regular-season shutouts in team history are Steve Clark (five in 2023) and Pat Onstad (four in 2007).  

D.C. United – Louis Munteanu

In two of D.C.'s last four matches, both Munteanu and Lucas Bartlett have scored headed goals, including in their last game before the break against CF Montreal.

Over the last 20 seasons, no other D.C. duo has had multiple MLS matches with a headed goal for each player, but they will face a tough test if they want to get past Bond.

MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

This will be D.C.'s first visit to Houston in over seven years, since a 2-1 loss in May 2019. The Dynamo have won 12 of their 15 all-time home matches against United (D2 L1), with their only such loss coming in 2014.

The Dynamo entered the break winning their last three home matches, each by the same 1-0 scoreline. The Dynamo's only streak of four consecutive shutout wins at home in league play came in March and April 2023.

Meanwhile, D.C. are unbeaten in four consecutive regular-season away matches (W1 D3) and have lost just two of eight away games overall this year (W2 D4).

Their last longer road unbeaten stretch in all competitions was a six-match run that spanned the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 53.1%

Draw – 23.6%

D.C. United – 23.3%