Crew-Dynamo Preview

A new era for the Houston Dynamo has arrived after the departure of the only coach the team has known.

The club has also moved back to the new-look Western Conference, which means it is no longer a rival of Columbus Crew SC - which is debuting its new name.

Owen Coyle makes his MLS coaching debut for the Dynamo on Saturday night at home against the Crew.

Houston enjoyed plenty of success under Dominic Kinnear, winning MLS Cups in 2006 and 2007 along with Eastern Conference championships in 2011 and 2012.

Kinnear left to take over San Jose - where the Houston franchise was based before moving to Texas. That resulted in an extensive coaching search that resulted in the hire of Coyle, a native of Scotland who has guided teams in the English Premier League.

"We'll try and build something with longevity, try and put a winning team on the park that'll entice fans to come," Coyle told the Dynamo's official website. "We'll try and play a brand of soccer that everybody enjoys watching but equally it can be a winning one."

The Dynamo added a major star in designated player Erick Torres, who tied for seventh in the league last season with 15 goals for Chivas USA. Torres, who Coyle has compared to English superstar Daniel Sturridge, is not yet with the team since he is on loan for Mexican club Chivas of Guadalajara.

Houston went 11-17-6 to finish eighth in the East in 2014. The club is now back in the West, where it played in its first five seasons in Texas.

Columbus has undergone a rebranding with the new name and a new logo that account for its most notable offseason changes.

That's because the Crew enjoyed a fairly successful 2014, going 14-10-10 to finish third in the East before they were bounced in the conference semifinals by New England.

Justin Meram was third on the club with nine goals and begins the season with a suspension after getting a red card in the second leg of that series with the Revolution. Ethan Finlay, who was second on the club with 11 goals, was also sent off but had that red card rescinded and is eligible to play.

Finlay will be alongside playmaker Federico Higuain, who had a team-high 12 goals last year. Coach Gregg Berhalter said he will choose between Ben Speas, Hector Jimenez and Kristinn Steindorsson to take Meram's spot and form an attacking trio with the other two.

"There are a lot of possibilities, and a lot of unknowns," Berhalter told the Crew's official website. "You learn a lot about your group pretty quickly. I think it'll be a good time period, these first couple of weeks of the season."

Another player who could be in the Crew lineup and will be familiar to fans of both teams is veteran Kei Kamara, who began his MLS career with Columbus in 2006 and will start his second stint with the club. Kamara played with Houston from 2008-09.

These teams met three times last season, with each winning once and one contest ending in a draw.

Columbus is 1-3-6 all-time at Houston.