Sports Mole previews Thursday's Major League Soccer clash between Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Two sides aiming to solidify their places in the MLS Cup playoff positions come together on Thursday at the BBVA Compass Stadium when Houston Dynamo host Seattle Sounders.
The home team are seventh in the Western Conference heading into this fixture, while the visitors occupy the final MLS Cup playoff spot thanks to a higher goal difference than Portland Timbers.
Match preview
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A successful last campaign for Houston saw them not only qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time since 2017 but also take home the US Open Cup trophy after defeating Inter Miami in the final.
While they have not been as impressive so far this year, Ben Olsen's men go into this game in a strong position to record back-to-back qualifications for the MLS Cup playoffs, something they have failed to do since qualifying in three successive years in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
A difficult start to the term saw Houston take just one point from their opening two matches before going on a run of four wins in five games, but another dip in form has followed as they have managed just two victories in the 10 matches since.
Orange Crush are unbeaten in their last three games with a win and two draws and they have only lost one of their last six MLS matches when playing in front of their home crowd, leaving them confident of securing a result from this one.
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Their opponents Seattle have failed to live up to the high expectations they have set upon themselves in recent years so far this time around, currently placing ninth in the table with 21 points from 18 matches.
Having finished within the top four of the Western Conference in all but one of their 15 years in the MLS they will be far from happy with their current position, but Brian Schmetzer's team has seen an improvement in recent weeks.
Just one win in the opening nine fixtures saw Seattle stumble out of the blocks but only two losses in the following nine league outings has seen them quickly rise up the table.
Impressive performances in recent weeks have seen Schmetzer's side draw with Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake after conceding in the 99th minute and beat Minnesota United 2-0 in an extremely dominant performance in their last game.
Seattle will now be looking to continue their improved form with a victory that would see them leapfrog their opponents and move up the table as they look to solidify their place in the top nine.
Houston Dynamo Major League Soccer form:
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Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer form:
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Team News
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The hosts will remain without the services of Nelson Quinones, who has been out of the side since late February due to a knee injury.
McKinze Gaines will also be out of the side until later this month due to a hip injury that he sustained in late May.
Sebastian Kowalczyk has scored twice in his last three matches for Houston and the striker is expected to lead the line once again here.
As for the visitors, Nathan and Pedro De la Vega are not expected to make their returns to the squad until later this month with the pair currently recovering from injuries.
Alex Roldan and Albert Rusnak were both forced off with injuries during the 2-0 win over Minnesota in their last game, and the duo are doubtful for this one.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Dorsey, Sviatchenko, Micael, Escobar; Artur, Herrera; Carrasquilla, Bassi, Aliyu; Kowalczyk
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; Rothrock, Andrade, Ragen, Tolo; Vargas, Paulo; Roldan, Leyva, Chu; Morris
We say: Houston Dynamo 0-1 Seattle Sounders
Seattle have been the victors in each of the last four meetings between these two sides with all four matches being won by one goal margins, and we expect this to be the case once again here with a narrow victory for the away side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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