LAFC looks to keep rolling in Houston
Coming off a top-notch performance against Inter Miami, Los Angeles Football Club midfielder Igor Jesus won’t play Saturday.
A one-game suspension for a pair of cautions and the subsequent red card 53 minutes into LAFC’s 3-2 loss at San Diego last weekend means Jesus must sit for the first time since joining the club when it resumes the MLS regular-season calendar at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.
The 21-year-old Brazilian, who started 10 and appeared in all 11 of LAFC’s matches so far, isn’t credited with a goal or assist in 964 minutes across MLS and CONCACAF Champions Cup action, but he has been lauded by coaches and teammates for an intelligent, mature and physical style that quickly made him a key component in the middle of the field.
“There are certain behaviors that Igor has that other players on our roster who play that position do not have,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said Friday. “He plays very close to our center backs and can sometimes slip into the back line and act as a third center back in a deeper block, traits that are specific to Igor and that we’ll miss.”
Defender Marlon Santos said he has seen growth in his fellow Brazilian, and expects Jesus’ upward trajectory to continue. But with his absence following a tough shift alongside midfielders Timothy Tillman and Mark Delgado in their 1-0 victory on Wednesday, the door could open for midfielders Odin Holm, Yaw Yeboah or Adam Saldaña to contribute.
Among the midfield group, Holm, a 22-year-old Norwegian, believes “we have a lot of different qualities.”
A loanee through 2025 from the Scottish power Celtic, Holm played the last seven minutes against Miami after subbing on for Tillman. It was the third appearance for Holm since debuting with LAFC on March 22 after recovering from a ruptured ankle tendon during a preseason match in Coachella.
Holm has “been bright for us on the ball,” Cherundolo said. “He’s a player who can play in and out of pressure quite easily. It comes natural to him. Technically he’s extremely proficient.”
Getting the offensive-minded midfielder more minutes so he understands which pockets of the field to float in and out of to be effective with the ball for LAFC is the next step of his progression.
“I’m here to gain confidence, experience and to win trophies,” Holm said prior to the start of the season.
The date versus the Dynamo (0-4-2, 2 points) sets up as a chance for Holm as he attempts to take advantage of his time in L.A. ahead of an expected return to Celtic.
Previous trips to Houston haven’t necessarily worked out well for LAFC (3-3-0, 9 points), but barring unforeseen circumstances, the group, including Jesus, will travel directly to South Florida.
Sandwiched between both legs of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal round against Inter Miami (Game 2 is scheduled for April 9 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale), the match Saturday is in the middle of a five-game stretch for LAFC in 15 days – keeping alive a run of “strange” away days against Houston, Cherundolo said.
Last year, having already flown to Texas, a July 7 contest was canceled when Hurricane Beryl threatened Houston. The makeup date came two months later while LAFC sent six players to international duty during a FIFA window.
Houston parted ways with Mexican star Hector Herrera at the end of last season. Veteran Nicolás Lodeiro and 21-year-old Jack McGlynn, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia, feature for Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen’s 2025 squad, which is struggling with a minus-seven goal differential after a half-dozen games.
LAFC AT HOUSTON DYNAMO
When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston
TV/radio: Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass)/710 AM, 980 AM