Dynamo hope Hell in the Shell can bring back winning form: What to watch for
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo return to Shell Energy Stadium tonight, hoping Hell in the Shell can help the team regain their winning form. The Dynamo are coming off a 1-0 loss in Seattle last weekend. Houston will welcome Sporting Kansas City to town tonight. SKC beat Vancouver 3-0 last Saturday.
When: Saturday, July 8 | 7:39 PM CT kickoff
Where: Shell Energy Stadium; Houston, Texas
TV/Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN Deportes Houston 93.3 FM (Spanish)
Legends return
Tonight’s match will see the return of a number of former players as the club hosts its first Alumni Weekend. Fans will get the chance to meet former players, including Brian Ching, Brad Davis, and AJ DeLaGarza. Oscar Boniek Garcia will also be celebrated at halftime. The Honduran recently retired from the sport after winning the 2023 Clausura title with Olimpia. Boniek made 235 appearances for Houston and is truly a club legend that the fans will be excited to see back. If you missed our interview with him, check out our podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts, as well as our translation of the interview in English.
More defensive changes
The Dynamo will be once again forced to make a change on the back line with defender Micael suspended tonight after seeing red in Seattle. Houston has shuffled through many different pieces on defense but has still managed to be a stout unit. Switching up the back four is becoming just something that head coach Ben Olsen has had to deal with, and he’s confident in whoever he puts back there. “It’s been a theme all year. We've been juggling the back line since week one,” Olsen said this week. “Next man up has been a theme back there. For the most part, they've done a good job, and it'll be no different this weekend. We have five or six guys that we trust back there that have all seen significant minutes this year. We expect the next player to come in and fill a role.”
New look SKC
When the Dynamo eliminated Sporting KC from the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup earlier this year, they faced a SKC team that was in awful form and dealing with a number of injuries. Fast forward to now and KC have strung together some results to climb the table back to 10th place. Mexican striker Alan Pulido has been a big reason for Sporting’s renewed form and he just won MLS Player of the Month. Olsen knows his team has a much different task on their hands with this version of SKC. “The last time we played them, they were calling for the coach's head, which is ridiculous. They had a bunch of injuries and just a different team. It’s a whole different animal that's coming here,” Olsen told us Thursday. “They are confident, playing at a high level and with different personnel. They seem very clear in what they're doing, and they're effective. So, we’ll have to be at our best. We’re looking forward to them coming in town and then Minnesota. They are another team that's hot and a different
group than we saw earlier. Then Colorado is different. This is a stage in the season where teams are figuring themselves out and what makes them good, while fixing some of the things that have haunted them early in the season. They're all still picking up some additional players in the transfer market and getting guys back from injuries. It’s a long season, and you see different versions of teams throughout that time. We’ll certainly see a different version of Kansas City than we saw last time.”
Availability Report
Houston Dynamo - Out: Ifunanyachi Achara (knee), Teenage Hadebe (leg), Tate Schmitt (knee), Coco Carrasquilla (international duty), Micael (red card suspension)
Sporting Kansas City – Out: Tim Melia (quad), Kortne Ford (Achilles), Graham Zusi (hamstring), Willy Agada (tibia); Questionable: Nemanja Radoja (adductor)
Predicted Lineup
