Match Preview presented by O4 Water: LA Galaxy prepared for Friday's "tough" matchup against Houston

CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy’s recent run of success has been quite simple.

The five-time MLS Cup champions have fashioned consecutive shutouts over Western Conference rivals Vancouver and Seattle – three clean sheets in a row if you count a U.S. Open Cup victory in Portland – and appear to be rounding into top form for the second half of the season.

Their strategy doesn’t take much imagination, head coach Bruce Arena said as the Galaxy (7-3-8, 29 points) prepared to take on the Houston Dynamo (4-8-6, 18 points) in another conference clash Friday at StubHub Center (8 p.m., UniMas).

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“If you’re not conceding goals and you can get a goal, it sounds like a formula for winning,” he said.

The presence of Robbie Keane certainly has provided a boost to their recent play. The Irish international missed five games because of Euro 2016 and has two goals in two games, including the game-winner last Saturday in Seattle, since his return.

“He’s certainly contributed greatly over the last couple of games,” Arena acknowledged.

Keane said he’s just doing what is asked of him.

“I score goals and win games,” he said. “If I keep performing every time that I come back then I’m doing my job.”

Friday’s game marks a rematch of a wild game at Houston on April 15. The Galaxy fell behind in the first minute but rallied behind Giovani Dos Santos’ two goals for a 4-1 triumph that marked the team’s first-ever win at BBVAA Stadium.

“To win 4-1 on the road was pretty impressive,” Arena said.

This has been a transition year for the Dynamo, who named Wade Barrett interim head coach for of the rest of the season on May 25 when Owen Coyle left for England to be closer to his family. Houston is last in the West and is winless on the road (0-7-3), but they do have shutouts in three of their last four games and are 1-1-4 since Barrett took over.

“They’re going to be a tough team to play against,” Arena said. “They, like ourselves, have played well defensively as of late. They haven’t conceded many goals since Wade Barrett’s taken over.

“They’ve been good and it’s going to be a hard game. I expect them to defend with great numbers and look to get us on a counter.”

Houston, however, will be without one of its top defenders after veteran DaMarcus Beasley had minor knee surgery on July 11 and was expected to miss 2-4 weeks. The Galaxy will be missing left back Ashley Cole, who has a sore hamstring, and midfielder Nigel de Jong was suspended an additional match and fined for his red card and foul on Vancouver’s Blas Perez in the 74th minute of the Galaxy’s 2-0 win on July 4. De Jong served the first game of his suspension in last Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Seattle.

Keane called Houston “a big team physically and dangerous on set pieces” but did not appear overly concerned about the Dynamo. He’d rather concentrate on his own team’s play.

“I don’t like worrying about other teams,” he said. “We need to worry about what we do, and if we do that we’ll be ok.”

• Robbie Keane scored his second goal in his second game after returning from Euro 2016, the Galaxy claiming a 1-0 win Saturday at Seattle Sounders FC. It was a second consecutive win for the Galaxy on the heels of a seven-game winless run – of which Keane missed five games.
• The Dynamo recorded a second consecutive shutout and a third in their last four games, reaching a fourth draw in six games since Wade Barrett took over as interim head coach in their 0-0 result at Orlando City SC on Friday, July 8.
• The teams are meeting for a second time this season. Giovani dos Santos scored a pair of goals and set up a third as the Galaxy won 4-1 April 15 at BBVA Compass Stadium.
• The Galaxy win this year was their first ever at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Galaxy’s last win in Houston had come in the 2010 season – at Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo had won four consecutive home games in the series.
• The Galaxy won 1-0 last May 22 at StubHub Center, their first league victory against the Dynamo since May 25, 2011, a 1-0 win in Carson, ending a five-game league winless run in the series. The Dynamo had won four consecutive league meetings between the teams before a 1-1 draw March 21 in the first meeting between the teams.