The Vancouver Whitecaps finish their Texas road trip on Saturday by travelling to Shell Energy Stadium to take on the Houston Dynamo.

The Dynamo have been the archetype of a midtable team this year, a reality underscored by the fact that they smoked LAFC on Sunday before getting smoked themselves by Real Salt Lake on Wednesday. They are also the lone team left in MLS that has yet to draw a game, meaning it has really been boom or bust for the Dynamo. Which version of this Houston team shows up on Saturday remains to be seen.

Still, this is a Houston side that has generally looked much better since Artur returned from injury a few weeks ago. They have won three out of their last five games in MLS play and seem to have figured out a modified version of the three-at-the-back that Ben Olson has been rolling with all year.

The new formation has oscillated between a 3-4-3 and a 3-5-2, but it has increasingly involved a bit more work from the wide players, Lawrence Ennali and Felipe Andrade, to get downfield and open up space for Jack McGlynn, Mateusz Bogusz, and Guilherme centrally.

The revamped attack has shown signs of life for Houston after a season of disappointment from high-priced attackers like Ezequiel Ponce. But the Dynamo still rank near the bottom in goals per match and haven’t been particularly consistent this year.

The Caps’ ability to smother things centrally will be improved by the news that Andres Cubas, who appeared to sustain a knee injury against FC Dallas on Wednesday, has escaped serious damage and has returned to training. It is unclear whether he will be able to start, but this is a big boost for both the club and Cubas, who surely was fearing that he might miss the World Cup.

Houston has some dangerous pieces (McGlynn’s dominance against LAFC is a reminder that he is a uniquely talented player), but Vancouver will look to frustrate the Dynamo by cutting off passing lanes and winning aerial duels, two things they did very well against Dallas.

Defensively, Roberto Carlos, Artur, and Agustin Resch have been the usual centreback unit. Houston seems likely to sit deep and rely on their centrebacks to snuff out danger, while their wingbacks overwhelm in transition and provide service into the box for Guilherme. This is a variation of what Vancouver has been up against all year, and they need to be ready to unpick the lock once again.

Fortunately, this task will be easier now that Thomas Müller is fit and firing after an illness, with the German making a brief cameo in Frisco on Wednesday. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts this one and goes nearly the full 90 minutes. Jesper Sorensen has a choice to make about his wide players, with neither Cheikh Sabaly nor Emmanuel Sabbi making much of an impact in the midweek. I’d think Bruno Caicedo gets the nod here, with either AZ Jackson or Kenji Cabrera filling in on the opposite side. And Oliver Larraz or Jeevan Badwal will take Andres Cubas’ place in the lineup.

The only other wrinkle will be whether Ranko Veselinovic, who also came off the bench on Wednesday, will be fit enough to start. It was encouraging to see Ranko back from injury and looking like his old self. It is also possible that Sørensen will choose to take it easy with one of the best centrebacks in the league and save his return to the starting XI for after the World Cup break.

Three-match weeks are always trying, and there will undoubtedly be some tired legs from Vancouver, who had to endure a humid, gruelling affair against Dallas. Heading into the Texas swing, I was hoping for at least four points. The win on Wednesday means the Caps are ahead of pace, and given that Houston has been weaker than their North Texas rivals this season, fans would be within their rights to expect a win.

Still, the Caps have had a recent trend of starting sluggish and conceding right out of the gate. They can ill-afford that trend to continue against Houston, who showed against LAFC that they can go toe to toe with one of the Western Conference’s better sides.