Preview | Austin FC vs. LAFC – 2026 MLS Season

| Q2 Stadium – Austin, Texas

LAFC carries its membership-report run of 4 straight wins to start the season into Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX, on Saturday evening for a primary-time Western Conference conflict on Apple TV and FOX.

The Black & Gold has a report of 7W-0L-1D in all competitions— 4W-0L-0D in MLS and 3W-0L-1D in Concacaf Champions Cup – and is the one membership in MLS to open this season with 4 consecutive shutout wins. Up subsequent is a gritty Austin FC facet taking part in at its raucous house stadium.

Austin at the moment sits in eleventh place within the West after 4 weeks, with a report of 1W-2L-1D.

“We had a video session this morning and it was about the things we could do better as a team,” LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos mentioned Friday. “Even if we are in a positive run, we still look at a lot of things that we have to be better at as a team. That was the meeting today in relation to Austin.”

WATCH: Match Trailer | Austin FC vs. LAFC (0:51)

LAFC traveled to Texas immediately after sealing its emotional, 3-2 combination-objectives win over Alajuelense in Concacaf Champions Cup on Tuesday evening, which superior the membership into the CCC Quarterfinals. LAFC has bunkered within the Texas capital for the final three days to get well bodily, watch movie, and do a bit of coaching.  

“The dads and husbands in the locker room probably miss their wives and kids when it’s a little bit more extended,” Dos Santos said, “but they like to be around each other. They do a lot of things together and it’s a really good group, a good locker room. That’s what I’ve been seeing these past few days.”

The Black & Gold remains to be with out one among its early-season midfield stars, Stephen Eustáquio, who suffered a decrease physique harm in opposition to Dallas on March 7 and has been taking issues sluggish. “We’re going to try to do this rehab the best we can and make sure that we put every tool to have Stephen with us as soon as possible but right now before the break we have to focus on the run we’re having. Can we continue? Can we win five in a row and keep pushing? That’s our objective as a group.”

Dos Santos added that centerback and 2025 captain Aaron Long, and lately acquired winger Jacob Shaffelburg, are near returning to group coaching. Long suffered a season-ending Achilles harm final July.

Through 4 MLS matches Austin has scored 5 objectives and conceded seven. Only three groups within the Western Conference have scored fewer objectives than the Verde up to now.

Austin’s complete xG (anticipated objectives) to date this season stands at 4.1, or roughly one anticipated aim per sport, which ranks twenty sixth in MLS. The Verde have misplaced the xG battle in three of their 4 matches this yr, together with their final two, each highway losses through which in addition they held much less possession than their opponent. Q2 Stadium, nonetheless, is usually a highly effective teammate, with inexperienced-clad locals piling in and making their presence felt.

Austin often performs in a 4-2-3-1 form, with reigning MLS All-Star Brad Stuver in aim, as he has been for just about each sport the 2019 growth membership has ever performed. 

Stuver was superb final week in opposition to RSL, making a number of double saves to carry the 1-1 scoreline till RSL’s Stijn Spierings rifled house a matchwinner from distance within the 88th minute.

This previous offseason Austin acquired former MLS All-Star and Uruguay worldwide Facundo Torres, who has but to attain however leads the membership with two assists and is tied for third in MLS in key passes (12). (Key passes instantly create a aim scoring alternative for a teammate.)

“There are similarities to the team of last year,” Dos Santos mentioned of the facet that LAFC defeated within the MLS Cup Playoffs in November 2025. “And there are little tweaks because of the addition of players like Facundo Torres and [former Vancouver winger] Jayden Nelson who bring a little bit of a different dynamic offensively. We’re aware of them, we’re aware of their strengths, and we have to be very focused.”

On Nov. 2, 2025, LAFC defeated Austin 4-1 at Q2 Stadium to win their Round One Best-of-3 sequence and advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga assisted each other within the twenty first and twenty fifth minutes to present LAFC an early 2-0 benefit, then Bouanga added one other within the forty fourth to successfully put the sport away. Son recorded his first MLS postseason aim that evening, in addition to his first MLS postseason help.

Of the 106 objectives Bouanga has scored for LAFC in all competitions, he has scored eight (8) in opposition to Austin, which trails solely the Galaxy (10), San Jose (10), and Vancouver (9) amongst groups he has scored in opposition to most frequently.

Goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris continues to paved the way. The French World Cup champ has stopped each one of many 15 photographs he has confronted to date this season in MLS play, however his vocal management transcends his shot-stopping. Lloris places his males in the best place. 

Lloris, together with defenders Eddie Segura and Nkosi Tafari, are the one three LAFC gamers to play all 360 minutes in MLS this season. Third centerback Ryan Porteous has solely missed a single minute of motion. These 4 have held down the fort whereas the membership’s entrance seven have gotten to know Dos Santos’ attacking techniques.

Facundo Torres will get free. A useful member of Uruguay’s nationwide group, Torres can drift by means of video games after which all of the sudden make the scoreboard change when nobody’s trying. He did it final week in Salt Lake, curling an ideal free kick from 40 yards out and putting it on the pinnacle of defender Jon Bell, who completed for the sport’s opening aim. 

LAFC could be clever to keep watch over Austin’s quantity 11.