Previewing Houston Dynamo vs Seattle Sounders with Sounder at Heart
(image via Seattle Sounders FC)
The Houston Dynamo will look to stay unbeaten at Shell Energy Stadium as they face a tough test with the reigning Concacaf Champions League winning Seattle Sounders coming to town. We talked to our friend Dave Clark from Sounder at Heart to get some insight on the Sounders ahead of Saturday night’s match.
The Sounders are coming off a surprising loss at home to Sporting Kansas City Sunday. Was this just a blip on the radar or cause for concern?
It was both a blip and a cause for concern. The Seattle Sounders haven't scored more than one goal in MLS play since April 8th's 3-nil win over St Louis. So there is a trend that goes beyond just the injury crisis. Fixing this is Schmetzer's number one goal that he doesn't have enough time to do because Seattle is playing twice a week for another two weeks.
But it's also a blip as there is a pretty heavy injury crisis
Seattle looks to have a number of players who will be unavailable Saturday. Who all will not play against the Dynamo and how do the Sounders replace these guys?
Let's start at the top and work our way back. Raúl Ruidíaz has a hamstring issue. Léo Chú's wife just gave birth and has a foot problem. Cristian Roldan is in concussion protocol. Obed Vargas is at the U-20 World Cup. Nouhou had malaria and is still recovering from those symptoms. Kelyn Rowe has a knee issue. Fourth goalkeeper Jacob Castro is injured.
Jordan Morris has been in incredible form this season. What has been the key to his play this season?
He's been better at taking defenders on this year, probably better than ever at that. The additional aggression with the ball at his feet has forced defenders to give him a bit more space, which he's then using to run right by them. He's also getting into shot-taking opportunities that are difficult to miss (though because it is soccer, he's still missed a couple of these). When he's on this year he's an unstoppable force who will be in the MVP discussion. Like most scoring players he does need a cast to support him and that's been lacking lately.
Seattle attacks on the wings more than anyone in MLS. With Houston playing a de facto three center backs, how do you think Brian Schmetzer and the staff will look to attack the Dynamo?
With the squad likely to be playing on Saturday the Sounders will have two paths towards goal. The left side will be attempts at the Jordan Morris Show as the league saw in the first handful of matches. He'll have to get help from Lodeiro for this to be special though.
The other route is probably going to be slow, patient buildup through the middle. Héber, Nico Lodeiro, Albert Rusnák, and João Paulo are a quatro of technical players who can advance through traffic quite well. They haven't turned that into goals yet. They must be threatening. Héber will need to drop back, picking up the ball and finding the runs from Nico and Albert if Seattle wants to score this way.
Predicted lineup and prediction for the match?
Frei; Baker, Ragen, Yeimar, A. Roldan; João Paulo, Rusnák; Morris, Lodeiro, Dobbelaere; Héber
The bench will be very familiar to Tacoma Defiance fans.
Houston will win 2-nil.
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We want to thank Dave for his time and wish our friends in Seattle the best of luck tomorrow. And make sure you check out our answers to their questions about the Dynamo on Sounder at Heart.
