Houston celebrates their win over RSL last August in Houston
The fact that Real Salt Lake has a serious aversion to winning in Texas is not lost on most RSL fans. The Claret and Cobalt have failed to win in 20 visits to the Lone Star state, and that is where they find themselves Thursday night against the Houston Dynamo in brand new BBVA Compass Stadium.
The news doesn't get a lot better for RSL if you just read the tail of the tape preview. Captain Kyle Beckerman will be missing from the lineup as well as Alvaro Saborio and Will Johnson, all away on international duty. Apparently MLS can't get it through their head to give ALL the clubs the FIFA date off, especially as this is a World Cup Qualifying week. Nick Rimando was also called in to the US National team, but will be Houston to play the match tomorrow night. Also, BBVA Compass has been a fortress for the Dynamo since it's opening, as it's been hard for any team to get a result there, let alone a win.
It's not all bad though. Houston comes into the match winless in their last four, and suffered a nasty defeat at the hands of the Chicago Fire last weekend. They've dropped from the top of the table in the East to fourth, now looking over their shoulder in the playoff race. They'll also have international absences of their own. Oscar Boniek Garcia will be with Honduras, Andre Hainault will be wearing Canadian colors, and both Jermaine Taylor and Je-Vaughn Watson have been called into the Jamaica squad that will face the USA.
Boniek Garcia in particular has been a constant threat for the Dynamo since his signing earlier in the summer, so that will be one less attacking option for the Dynamo. However RSL will still have to deal with the ever present form of Brad Davis and his lethal service, probably the best left foot in MLS. Also RSL will have to defend Will Bruin, who has 11 goals on the season for the Dynamo.
A big part of playing against, and having success against, Houston is to defend the set piece well. The Dynamo have 11 goals from set pieces this year, trailing only San Jose with 15. The cultured left foot of Brad Davis is a huge part of that, and it concerns me as RSL has given up some pretty cheap goals on set pieces this year, though they've been much better of late. It will be of paramount importance to limit the chances that the Dynamo get to to punish them in this area.
The big hit Houston takes from the international week is on their back line, and I think RSL can possibly exploit that. They'll be missing two of their top defenders in Taylor and Hainault, and of course they no longer have Geoff Cameron to be a rock in their defense as he's off to Stoke City. Keeping that in mind, the Dynamo have allowed 8 goals in their four game winless streak. Even minus Saborio, the speed and ability of Fabian Espindola and Paulo Jr should be able to cause Houston some problems at the back and create some quality chances on goal.
As for RSL's defense, it looks like the line will probably be Beltran/Watson-Siriboe/Borchers/Wingert across the back. Watson Siriboe has been stellar filling in for Olave, and we'll probably need his height defending those Davis free kicks. Plus, that guy is going to get on the score sheet from a set piece of his own, sooner rather than later. RSL has posted three straight clean sheets across all competitions and we'll need that effort to take three points form BBVA Compass Stadium.
On the injury front, Houston will have MF Adam Moffat listed as doubtful with a adductor strain and FW Calen Carr as questionable with knee swelling. For RSL, Jamison Olave is still listed as doubtful, while Kenny Mansally is questionable. Chris Schuler, who was in the 18 against DC, is listed as probable.
The Claret and Cobalt have a number of guys who are on suspension notice for their next yellow card: chief among them Espindola and Javier Morales. Olave and Saborio are as well, but they won't see action. Calen Carr is the only player in that boat for the Dynamo.
The referee tomorrow night is Ismail Elfath. Everybody hold your breath. In 5 MLS matches he's given out 4 reds and 3 pks. He averages 22.6 fouls per game and 2.2 yellows. The 4th official is the infamous Jasen Anno.
So what's going to go down in the Texas heat Thursday night? I don't think we'll see the same effort/formation that we saw for the point in Philly. The chance for three is there but SOMEBODY has to step up and score goals, because Sabo won't be there to help us out. I think we'll get one. However, Houston has a knack for drama at home, and I see them getting one as well. I'll call it a 1-1 draw. I honestly think we'll need two to win, so hopefully somebody can step up to shoulder the load.
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