Austin FC vs LAFC prediction: Preview and how to watch MLS match

Austin coach Nico Estévez isn’t sold on having a family dog yet, but he might be coming around to the idea after Thursday.

With Austin Pets Alive! bringing two 8-week-old dogs to the club’s training facility, Estévez and the players took turns interacting with the puppies — who mostly slept — after practice. (Goalie Brad Stuver, who has an Australian Shepherd, held one during his entire media availability.)

Estévez noted his kids and wife want a dog, but with the family taking long trips to its native Spain and Estévez constantly on the road for work, logistics become an issue.

“When I drive up to the facility early in the morning, I see a lot of people walking dogs, but I don’t see many kids walking dogs,” Estévez quipped, hinting he and his wife would do the bulk of the caretaking if the family were to get one. “Maybe a dog that can travel well would be an option.”

As to his team, Estévez noted he’s looking for it to have more of a controlled “dog” mentality — a phrase that has become popular in sports the last decade and references being aggressive or overly competitive — in its attack as it travels to face perennial MLS power LAFC on Saturday.

“I think our mentality, attitude and intention has been there (the first three games), but maybe the poise and the ruthlessness wasn’t,” he said. “We have to play with passion, intensity and emotion, but have the poise to make the right decisions.”

Here’s what you need to know about the nationally televised match as Austin FC (1-2-0, 3 points) goes on the road for the second time this season:

Desler out for a while

The club received a major blow this week when it found out starting right back Mikkel Desler, who was arguably the club's best player the first three games, will miss at least six weeks with a hamstring injury he suffered late in the 1-0 loss to Colorado on Saturday.

Desler joins center back Julio Cascante in being sidelined with an injury, though the latter could return early next month.

Estévez said Jon Gallagher will start at right back Saturday, but as noted in this space after the Colorado match, Austin FC’s depth on the back line has taken a massive hit.

There’s currently no true backup at right back, though starting midfielder Owen Wolff seems like the best option if something happens to Gallagher, especially with Besard Sabovic and Nico Dubersarsky available in the midfield.

“Owen can be an option there, for sure,” Estévez said. “Because of his physicality and his technical ability and his technical understanding, he can play different positions.”

Defensive stats

While the back line has been excellent, defense as a whole has been Austin FC’s strength.

Estévez noted that according to the club’s internal statistics, Austin FC is near the top of the league in shots yielded, passes given up and expected goals against.

“We’re having a good balance of being aggressive in pressing and being in a good (defensive) block,” he said. “But obviously this is a game where everything isn’t metrics and data.”

Even though Austin FC was very good on defense a year ago, Stuver noted a slightly different setup this season has helped through the first three games.

“If we lose the ball, we’re in a better position where we won’t get hit in a counterattack,” Stuver said. “Our defensive structure has been showing to be pretty strong.”

Right offensive balance

With one goal in three games, scoring is the issue for Austin FC.

Forwards Myrto Uzuni, Brandon Vazquez and Osman Bukari are still getting used to playing together, but Estévez noted that the team as a whole is learning about controlling a match’s tempo.

“We want to be that team that can have that verticality but also have the calm and control of the game,” he said. “For us it’s understanding when is the right moment for each.”

Sánchez facing former club

There will be a lot of familiar faces on the field for Austin FC defensive midfielder Ilie Sánchez.

Sánchez spent the last three seasons with LAFC before joining the Verde & Black in the offseason and should be a resource for a scouting report.

“You always pick a player’s brain when they’ve spent a long time with a club,” Estévez said. “You try and get any details that can help at the end of the day. … It’s important to have the information, and now it’s how we take care of that information and approach the game.”

A glance at LAFC

LAFC has been one of MLS’ top clubs the last five years and features one of the league’s most dangerous offensive threats in forward Denis Bouanga.

Bouanga scored in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at Columbus in CONCACAF Champions Cup, which guaranteed LAFC advanced on aggregate.

“He’s very dynamic and is always moving,” Stuver said. “It’s going to take a full effort defending LAFC, and we can’t get overly committed to one player. But we know the dangers that he possesses. … We’re going to ask our guys to do their very best in containing him and keeping him to wide areas.”

Estévez joked about it being unfortunate LAFC didn’t have another midweek game next week, as his club will likely see LAFC’s best lineup, before noting this contest is a measuring stick.

“They’re one of the teams that is consistently fighting to win MLS Cup, consistently fighting in CONCACAF Champions Cup and consistently fighting to win Leagues Cup,” he said. “But I told our guys we can beat any team in the league.”

Austin FC predicted starting lineup

Forward: Myrto Uzuni, Brandon Vazquez, Osman Bukari

Midfield: Owen Wolff, Dani Pereira, Ilie Sánchez

Defense: Guilherme Biro, Brendan Hines-Ike, Oleksandr Svatok, Jon Gallagher

Goalie: Brad Stuver