Major League Soccer · 2026Thu, 20 Aug 2026, 02:30 UTCScheduledPre-match analysis

Vancouver Whitecaps

DWLWL

vsPre-match analysis

Houston Dynamo

LWDDW

30-second read

What the record shows

The clearest recorded pattern is: Houston Dynamo's last-five goals scored average is below their season average. A second useful context is: Vancouver Whitecaps's shot volume and the opposing shot-allowance context sit above their competition baselines. Limitation: At least one team lacks a recent completed match near this fixture cutoff.

Houston Dynamo's recent record differs from the season

moderate

Houston Dynamo's last-five goals scored average is below their season average.

1 goals/match▲Goals forLast 5 · Season1.38 goals/match

Evidence and caveat

Comparison: An unweighted last-five average is compared with the unweighted season average.

Window: last_5 versus season

Metric	Last 5	Season	Baseline
Goals for	1 goals/match	1.38 goals/match	1.63 goals/match

Caveat: Five matches are sensitive to opponent mix and isolated match states.

Vancouver Whitecaps show a distinct attacking-volume record

moderate

Vancouver Whitecaps's shot volume and the opposing shot-allowance context sit above their competition baselines.

17.5 shots/match▲ShotsVancouver Whitecaps · Houston Dynamo13.4 shots/match

Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Team shot volume is paired with the opponent's recorded shot allowance.

Window: season

Metric	Vancouver Whitecaps	Houston Dynamo	Baseline
Shots	17.5 shots/match	13.4 shots/match	13 shots/match
Shots against	8.33 shots/match	12 shots/match	12.3 shots/match

Caveat: Shot volume describes activity; it does not establish finishing quality or a match outcome.

The teams have contrasting possession records

moderate

Vancouver Whitecaps have recorded the higher season possession share.

54.9%▲PossessionVancouver Whitecaps · Houston Dynamo44.9%

Evidence and caveat

Comparison: The recorded possession gap is 10.1 percentage points.

Window: season

Metric	Vancouver Whitecaps	Houston Dynamo	Baseline
Possession	54.9%	44.9%	49.9%

Caveat: Possession share does not show where possession occurred or how chances were created.

History

Head-to-head

Recent meetings between these teams — history, not a forecast.

0Vancouver Whitecaps

0Draws

1Houston Dynamo

17 May 2026Houston Dynamo — Vancouver Whitecaps · Major League Soccer1–0

Metric comparison

Values, percentiles and samples

Where the edge is

Vancouver Whitecaps favored in 12 of 14 directional metrics · Houston Dynamo in 0 · 2 too close

2.47 goals/match▲Goals scoredseason · 15/161.38 goals/match

1.07 goals/match▲Goals allowedseason · 15/161.5 goals/match

2.4 xG/match▲Expected goalsseason · 12/141.07 xG/match

0.97 xG/match▲Expected goals allowedseason · 12/141.18 xG/match

17.5 shots/match▲Shotsseason · 15/1613.4 shots/match

8.33 shots/match▲Shots allowedseason · 15/1612 shots/match

6.8 shots/match▲Shots on targetseason · 15/165 shots/match

3 shots/match▲Shots on target allowedseason · 15/163.94 shots/match

54.9%Possessionseason · 15/1644.9%

5.33 corners/matchCornersseason · 15/164.38 corners/match

3.27 corners/match▲Corners allowedseason · 15/165.06 corners/match

2.8 cards/match▲Cardsseason · 5/63 cards/match

15.4 fouls/matchFoulsseason · 15/1610.3 fouls/match

—Passesseason · 0/0—

—Pass accuracyseason · 0/0—

—Shots inside boxseason · 0/0—

—Blocked shotsseason · 0/0—

—Goalkeeper savesseason · 0/0—

—Offsidesseason · 0/0—

33%▲Clean-sheet frequencyseason · 15/1631%

87%▲Scoring frequencyseason · 15/1675%

Style profile

How the teams compare

Competition percentiles describe recorded style; they do not rank likely outcomes.

Possession control

Relative share of recorded possession within the competition.

Vancouver Whitecaps81.7

Houston Dynamo11.7

0–100 competition percentile · coverage 100%

Attacking volume

Recorded shot and scoring volume, expressed as competition percentiles.

Vancouver Whitecaps95

Houston Dynamo56.6

0–100 competition percentile · coverage 100%

Defensive resistance

Lower recorded scoring and shot allowance produces a higher descriptive percentile.

Vancouver Whitecaps96.1

Houston Dynamo70.5

0–100 competition percentile · coverage 100%

Directness proxy

Shots per possession point; a descriptive transition/directness proxy, not an outcome score.

Vancouver Whitecaps95

Houston Dynamo88.3

0–100 competition percentile · coverage 100%

Physicality

Recorded fouls and cards relative to competition peers.

Vancouver Whitecaps81.7

Houston Dynamo50

0–100 competition percentile · coverage 67%

Set-piece relevance

Corner volume relative to competition peers.

Vancouver Whitecaps70

Houston Dynamo21.7

0–100 competition percentile · coverage 100%

Tempo and pressure proxy

Combined event-volume percentiles for shots, corners and fouls.

Vancouver Whitecaps90.4

Houston Dynamo44.1

0–100 competition percentile · coverage 100%

Recent form

Season, last 10 and last 5

Window

Last 5

5 / 5 matches

2.2 goals/match▲Goals scored5/51 goals/match

2 goals/matchGoals allowed5/5▲1 goals/match

1.6 xG/match▲Expected goals5/50.95 xG/match

16.2 shots/match▲Shots5/514.2 shots/match

6.4 shots/match▲Shots on target5/55.6 shots/match

55.6%Possession5/552.2%

4 corners/matchCorners5/52.8 corners/match

—Cards2/1—

13.4 fouls/matchFouls5/510.8 fouls/match

Window

Last 10

10 / 10 matches

2.3 goals/match▲Goals scored10/101.2 goals/match

1.4 goals/matchGoals allowed10/10▲0.8 goals/match

2.38 xG/match▲Expected goals10/100.9 xG/match

19.2 shots/match▲Shots10/1013.1 shots/match

7.1 shots/match▲Shots on target10/105.2 shots/match

53.8%Possession10/1045.8%

5.5 corners/matchCorners10/103.2 corners/match

—Cards2/2—

15.5 fouls/matchFouls10/1010.7 fouls/match

Window

Season

15 / 16 matches

2.47 goals/match▲Goals scored15/161.38 goals/match

1.07 goals/match▲Goals allowed15/161.5 goals/match

2.4 xG/match▲Expected goals12/141.07 xG/match

17.5 shots/match▲Shots15/1613.4 shots/match

6.8 shots/match▲Shots on target15/165 shots/match

54.9%Possession15/1644.9%

5.33 corners/matchCorners15/164.38 corners/match

2.8 cards/matchCards5/63 cards/match

15.4 fouls/matchFouls15/1610.3 fouls/match

Venue split

Home and away samples

Window

Home team at home / away team away

8 / 8 matches

2.63 goals/match▲Goals scored8/81.63 goals/match

0.5 goals/match▲Goals allowed8/82.13 goals/match

3.02 xG/match▲Expected goals6/81.2 xG/match

18.4 shots/match▲Shots8/813.6 shots/match

7 shots/match▲Shots on target8/85.5 shots/match

53.5%Possession8/845.8%

6.38 corners/matchCorners8/83.75 corners/match

—Cards2/1—

16.6 fouls/matchFouls8/810.9 fouls/match

Schedule context

Rest and recent workload

28.1 daysRest before fixtureprevious completed fixtures · 1/111.3 days

0 matchesMatches in previous 14 daysprevious completed fixtures · 1/11 matches

Evidence quality

How much supports this analysis

Grade B · Useful evidencelimited

Season samples15 / 16home / away teams

Recent samples5 / 5last-five windows

Freshness28 daysstale at cutoff

At least one team lacks a recent completed match near this fixture cutoff.

Known unknowns

Lineups, injuries, suspensions and tactical changes are not available in the retained dataset.
The nearest completed-match evidence is stale relative to this fixture cutoff.

Analysis cutoff: Thu, 20 Aug 2026, 02:30 UTC · analysis-v4