Dynamo look to rebound with familiar foe St. Louis in town: What to watch for
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo are back home tonight looking to rebound from two straight losses in league play to in-state rivals. Houston will welcome a familiar foe to Shell Energy Stadium in St. Louis CITY SC. The two teams met in Concacaf Champions Cup play earlier this year with each team winning at home and the Dynamo ultimately advancing on aggregate. St. Louis hasn’t played since April 20, coming from behind for a 3-3 draw against Sporting Kansas City.
When: Saturday, May 4 | 7:40 PM CT kickoff
Where: Shell Energy Stadium; Houston, Texas
TV/Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV - Free
Radio: TUDN Deportes Houston 93.3 FM (Spanish)
A New Hope
After two frustrating losses to Austin and Dallas, the Dynamo are looking to get back to what made them successful early in the season. The Austin match saw them dominate the game, not be able to score, and then give up a late goal on a bit of a fluke play. In Frisco, Griffin Dorsey’s red card just five minutes into the match put a wrench into whatever plans the Dynamo had coming into the game. Now they’re back home looking to reset and shake off the issues from the previous two matches. Head coach Ben Olsen mentioned that the team is close to being back to full strength, as far as health. This should help, not only tonight, but with the fixtures starting to pile up, including Houston entering the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Tuesday.
The Force Awakens
The big question with this Dynamo team remains, where will the goals come from. Houston has been shut out in their last two matches and DP striker Sebas Ferreira has struggled to stay healthy. The Dynamo aren’t just having trouble scoring, they aren’t creating good chances. Houston is last in Major League Soccer in expected goals per 90 minutes. This shows a lack of good scoring opportunities, even if the strikers were finishing well. Hector Herrera’s return should help with this. He creates so many chances for his teammates and should vastly improve the offense. Herrera is no longer listed on the availability report, meaning he could be getting back to full strength and hopefully awakening the Dynamo attack.
Revenge of the Sith
St. Louis CITY SC is one of three MLS teams the Dynamo have never beaten in league play (Cincinnati and Charlotte are the other two). Houston did, however, knock City out of the Concacaf Champions League a couple of months ago. St. Louis were beaten at Shell Energy Stadium to see their inaugural entry into the tournament ended. Now they return to Houston looking for a bit of revenge. They had a week off last week and are in good form in the league this season, losing just once. Brazilians Joao Klauss and Celio Pompeu lead a potent attack spurred on by St. Louis’ stifling pressing style.
Houston Dynamo – Out: Griffin Dorsey (suspension), Nelson Quinones (knee); Questionable: Franco Escobar (lower body), Sebastian Ferreira (lower body), Brad Smith (lower body)
St. Louis CITY SC – Out: Njabulo Blom (hamstring), Eduard Lowen (hamstring), Josh Yaro (hamstring); Questionable: Chris Durkin (knee)
Predicted Lineup
