Dynamo host Pachuca in Leagues Cup Round of 32: What to watch for

(image via Houston Dynamo FC)

The Houston Dynamo are into the Round of 32 in the Leagues Cup after finishing second in their group. The Dynamo will host the top seed from LigaMX, CF Pachuca tonight at Shell Energy Stadium. Houston is coming off a 2-2 draw, and subsequent penalty shootout win, last week against Santos Laguna. Pachuca have yet to play a Leagues Cup match. They received a bye in the group stage from finishing as the Mexican team with the most points from last season’s Apertura and Clausura seasons.

When: Wednesday, August 2 | 8:00 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)

Leagues Cup excitement

There were a lot of question marks when the Leagues Cup was announced to feature every team from MLS and LigaMX. So far, the tournament has been exciting with several great matches and the introduction of one Lionel Messi. The rivalry between the United States and Mexico is always a good one in soccer and the Leagues Cup is helping further that. “I think we all had mixed emotions about this coming in as coaches and organization in terms of what this was going to look like,” Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen said on Tuesday. “So far, it's been great. I've really enjoyed watching the games. The format is fun. I think teams are playing really attacking stuff because as much as there is to lose, there's a lot more to just gain and get reps and continue to kind of push the game. They’ve been entertaining and high scoring, and I'm excited to see what comes with the knockout stages. Maybe that changes. Maybe they become a little bit more cagey in the way that tournaments do as they go. It will be fascinating to see how these next rounds play out.”

HH’s boyhood club

Dynamo captain Hector Herrera began his career with Pachuca and now he’s come full circle. Herrera has appeared in 421 club games against 128 different opponents. This will be the first time in his career that he takes on his boyhood club. “I’m really happy to be able to face Pachuca,” Herrera told the media this week. “It’s the team that gave me the opportunity to play and made me grow as a person and a player. It is an honor to be able to face them. I want to beat them. You play a game to win. However, it will be nice to face them and catch up with a lot of people that helped me and saw me grow in every aspect possible.”

Rested Pachuca

With a bye through the group stage, Pachuca hasn’t played a competitive match since July 16. They did play a friendly on July 23 but haven’t played again since. The Dynamo needed some rest after two group stage matches in quick succession. Now they’ve gotten a “normal” rest week and should be fully prepared for this match. As for Pachuca, is it better to have a lot of rest or to be playing consistently? “There are two sides,” Dynamo midfielder Artur said yesterday. “If you don’t play, you may be more rested and have more energy and time to prepare for the game. We need to be prepared and
focused on ourselves. We need to be ready for the game with good intensity and quality on the ball. Again, we need to be aware of the transition. We need to be ready and expect for them to come at their best. They’ve had time to prepare, so we need to be ready for that.”

Availability Report

Houston Dynamo - report not available

Pachuca – report not available

Predicted Lineup