Preview: Houston Dynamo vs. Seattle Sounders - prediction, team news, lineups
Both Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders enter their clash on Thursday at the BBVA Stadium in Texas needing to put together a lengthy unbeaten run, with the hosts in sixth spot and the Sounders in 11th in the Western Conference.
Seattle are currently five points behind Houston, but they have two games in hand to their advantage, after a busy schedule at the start of the campaign due to a successful CONCACAF Champions League run.
Match preview
Progression in the Open Cup last week was followed by a 2-0 win against Nashville for Houston, who did not dominate possession in that match, but made the most of their chances in front of goal.
Adalberto Carrasquilla opened the scoring and, despite being reduced to 10 players after Adam Lundqvist was shown a straight red card, Darwin Quintero added a second from the penalty spot in the second half.
Paulo Nagamura's side had lost three consecutive league matches prior to Sunday's victory, which dented their positive start to the campaign, although, victory this Thursday will put them back on track to become a strong contender for a top-seven finish.
This is Houston's last home match before four consecutive away games across all competitions ahead of June's international break, so they will need to set themselves up well for their next string of fixtures on their travels with a win this week.
The Sounders have been unable to make as strong a start to their Western Conference campaign as they would have liked, with a lot of focus being directed at the Champions League throughout the beginning of this season.
After lifting that trophy earlier this month, Seattle will now feel that they can kick on in their domestic campaign, and improve on their current 11th-placed position.
Brian Schmetzer's side enter this match having bounced back from disappointment in the Open Cup last week, when they lost out to San Jose Earthquakes on penalties, by securing a 3-1 win over Minnesota United.
Second-half goals from Raul Ruidiaz, Cristian Roldan and Nicolas Lodeiro turned that game around for Seattle, who did enter the break 1-0 down after allowing Robin Lod to open the scoring for the visitors.
The Sounders finished third in the MLS last year, and having been involved in four of the last six MLS finals, there is an expectation on Schmetzer's side to vastly improve on their current position.
Houston Dynamo Major League Soccer form:
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D
L
L
L
W
Houston Dynamo form (all competitions):
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L
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Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer form:
D
W
L
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L
W
Seattle Sounders form (all competitions):
L
D
W
L
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W
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Source: SportsMole
