The two sides currently holding down the final two playoff positions in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS) will face each other on Saturday as St Louis City pay a visit to Shell Energy Stadium for a date with the Houston Dynamo.
Orange Crush are eighth in the conference despite suffering a 2-0 defeat at Dallas, with St Louis moving to within a point of Houston following a 3-3 draw versus Sporting Kansas City.
Match preview
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Being reduced to 10 men five minutes after the opening whistle dramatically changed the tactics of Dynamo boss Ben Olsen in Frisco last week.
At a disadvantage, the Dynamo were forced to sit back and sustain pressure while trying to counter, a strategy which worked for 55 minutes before the Toros broke through, while Houston could not muster any legitimate attacks, finishing the match without a single effort on target.
Their recent form is a far cry from what they achieved to begin the 2024 domestic campaign, losing three of their last four MLS fixtures after going pointless in only one of their first five.
They are near the top of the table regarding passes and accuracy while being among the best at moving the ball in tight spaces, but a lack of finish in the attacking third has often made all of that work be for nothing.
Houston have not scored in consecutive MLS outings and are tied with Dallas for the second-fewest goals scored in the 2024 campaign (nine).
All four of their victories in MLS this season have been by a single goal, while three of their four defeats have also been by that same margin.
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St Louis may not be piling up the victories like in their inaugural campaign, but they have found a way to get back into the 2024 playoff picture by claiming at least a point in eight of their nine encounters thus far.
Their lines have been a lot tighter than a year ago, while their creativity and link-up play has also improved, but what seems to be missing is a killer instinct, failing to win four of their last six league fixtures when either scoring first or leading in the second half.
With just 12 points, they have accumulated seven fewer than they had after nine domestic encounters last year, though they have the joint-fewest defeats in the league this season (one).
In four away matches in this competition, St Louis have yet to come away with three points, and they have not won an MLS road contest since September 2023 (2-1 at Minnesota United).
One thing this side have not been short on in 2024 has been entertainment, with five of their matches so far producing four or more goals.
Bradley Carnell's men have never beaten the Dynamo at Shell Energy Stadium, losing the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup (CC) tie versus Orange Crush earlier in the campaign (1-0) and playing to a 1-1 draw in MLS play against them a season ago.
Team News
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Griffin Dorsey will be suspended for this encounter after the Dynamo defender was red-carded in the early stages of their match with Dallas, Sebastian Ferreira sat out last week with a lower-body issue and Nelson Quinones is out for the remainder of the campaign because of a knee injury.
Erik Sviatchenko came on as a substitute despite concerns of a hamstring ailment, Hector Herrera came off the bench despite a minor knee problem, while Franco Escobar started at left-back, playing through a minor lower-body injury.
McKinze Gaines featured for the first time since joining Orange Crush in mid-April in a trade from Nashville SC, replacing Sebastian Kowalczyk for the final few minutes last weekend.
St Louis were without Joshua Yaro for their previous encounter because of a hamstring strain, Njabulo Blom is dealing with a nagging issue in his knee and Tim Parker will not be available this weekend due to yellow card accumulation.
Samuel Adeniran missed the St Louis encounter versus Sporting KC, while Eduard Lowen is doubtful after sustaining a hamstring strain.
Klauss found the back of the net for a second match running, Celio Pompeu netted his third of the MLS campaign and Tomas Totland scored his first for St Louis City in their previous match.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Steres, Bartlow, Micael, Smith; Artur, Carrasquilla; Blessing, Herrera, Gaines; Kowalczyk
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Totland, Nilsson, Hiebert, Markanich; Ostrak, Durkin; Alm, Vassilev, Pompeu; Klauss
We say: Houston Dynamo 3-1 St Louis City
While they have improved in many areas of the field, St Louis still allow their share of scoring opportunities, and that could benefit the Dynamo on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
