Two sides fighting to break into the playoff places in their respective Major League Soccer conferences will do battle on Monday, as Houston Dynamo entertain Charlotte FC.
The hosts find themselves ninth in the Western Conference, two points outside of the top seven, while their visitors have a four-point gap to bridge to the playoffs in their division.
Match preview
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With 12 points from their opening seven league outings, Houston Dynamo looked to have made a positive start to the MLS season, but they have since found times tougher.
In the last 10 outings, El Naranja have suffered seven defeats, starting with three straight losses across late April and early May.
Paulo Nagamura's side have, at least, managed to win the other three of those games though, with the most recent triumph being a rebound from back-to-back defeats when they took on Chicago Fire on home turf.
Thorleifur Ulfarsson and Darwin Quintero got on the scoresheet in a 2-0 victory over the Illinois outfit in that game, but Houston went on to suffer another defeat last time out, as Quintero's second-half goal away at Portland Timbers was not enough to spark a turnaround after a Santiago Moreno brace had put the hosts 2-0 up.
Having struggled for consistency in recent months, Nagamura's men will now be desperate to establish a stronger run of form with the chance to climb back into the top seven of their conference with what would be a seventh league win of the season on Monday.
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Charlotte FC will arrive looking to make a return to winning ways after three games without a victory in the league.
In their debut MLS campaign, the North Carolina outfit have struggled for consistency thus far, losing 10 of their opening 18 games, and they find themselves 10th in the Eastern Conference as a result.
Wins over Inter Miami, Vancouver Whitecaps and New York Red Bulls in a five-match span did provide cause for optimism for CLTFC, who were newly under the interim management of Christian Lattanzio for the last of those, following Miguel Angel Ramirez's departure.
That was followed by a draw with Columbus Crew, before they fell short away at CF Montreal, with Guzman Corujo's early equaliser followed by a winning goal for the hosts through Mathieu Choiniere.
Now on the back of a narrow home defeat to Austin FC, as Daniel Pereira's second-half goal made the difference, Lattanzio's men find themselves four points outside of the playoff places, and they will be keen to reverse their fortunes with a return to winning ways on Monday.
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Team News
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Houston Dynamo should bring winger Darwin Quintero back into the starting XI on Monday, with the 34-year-old dropped to the bench despite topping their scoring charts with seven MLS goals so far this season.
Tyler Pasher will likely operate on the other flank with the line being led by Sebastian Ferreira, who has found the net six times in the league thus far.
Further back, Matias Vera will keep his place in the engine room with the likes of Darwin Ceren, Adalberto Carrasquilla and Thorleifur Ulfarsson jostling for the other places.
Charlotte FC's attack should be spearheaded by Karol Swiderski, who has netted four goals in 13 MLS appearances so far this season.
Andre Shinyashiki has quickly become another key man, with the winger hitting three goals in his first seven league appearances following a mid-season switch from Colorado Rapids.
Veteran full-back Christian Fuchs will continue to feature in a back four, with Guzman Corujo likely partnering Anton Walkes likely partnering up at the heart of the defence.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Zeca, Steres, Hadebe, Lundqvist; Ceren, Vera; Pasher, Ulfarsson, Quintero; Ferreira
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahlina; Afful, Walkes, Corujo, Fuchs; Bender, Bronico; Jozwiak, Ortiz, Shinyashiki; Swiderski
We say: Houston Dynamo 1-1 Charlotte FC
Given the unpredictable form of the two sides, Monday's game is difficult to predict, but we see the most likely outcome as a share of the spoils.
Both are struggling to put victories on the board and we see them cancelling out each other's efforts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
