Houston, TX (My Sportsbook) - The Houston Dynamo will be trying to clinch a spot in the Major League Soccer playoffs when they host the Kansas City Wizards on Sunday afternoon.

A win by Houston (12-8-7), the Western Conference leader heading into the weekend fixtures, would ensure the team a spot in the upcoming playoffs. They could also clinch with a draw and some help.

The Dynamo are coming off a 3-2 win vs. Real Salt Lake on Sept. 19 in their last MLS fixture, earning a victory that snapped a four-game winless streak.

"A must-win is if you lose and your season is over," Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said. "It's a necessary win. For the momentum of the team since we were treading water and for confidence and the feeling in the locker room, it was a very necessary win.

"To be totally honest we felt like we were letting the game slip away again," Houston midfielder Brad Davis said. "Credit to our guys that we didn't stop."

The Wizards are currently on a three-game unbeaten run and have lost just one of their last five, including a scoreless draw vs. Colorado in their last league fixture on Sept. 26.

"When it comes down to the end of the season like this, and games are what they are, both teams are fighting for everything," Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said after the Colorado game. "I go back to it. If we had walked away [from the game] having not created chances, then I'd walk away saying we were a little tentative. We weren't aggressive. But, we had quite a few chances. And, set piece-wise, we were dominant.

"Walking off the field, I heard a couple of our players talking about where we could be right now if we played like this the entire season. It's good to see that the team is confident with the way we are playing. When I took over, we talked about changing the attitude of this team, and that definitely is happening."

The Wizards (8-11-7) will be without midfielder Kevin Souter and forward Adam Cristman because of injury, while the Dynamo will be without forward Brian Ching because of suspension and defender Richard Mulrooney because of injury.