The red-hot Houston Dynamo look to continue the momentum when they visit Real Salt Lake on Wednesday in Sandy, Utah.
The Dynamo (6-5-0, 18 points) are 6-1-0 in their last seven matches in all competitions, including both the MLS regular season and the U.S. Open Cup. This impressive run includes a 4-1 away win on Sunday over Los Angeles FC.
Sunday’s game was the first of five matches within a 14-day stretch for Houston, as the team’s busy schedule has been further crowded by its run to the U.S Open Cup quarterfinals.
“Our depth, fortunately, has been battle-tested and they’ve played a lot of minutes,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said, describing his team’s approach to what he called a “little gauntlet” of fixtures.
“Form comes into play, and us starting to hone in on exactly who we are and the best version of ourselves. But this is also just about…making sure that everybody’s ready physically and mentally to help us through this stretch,” Olsen said.
The Dynamo will be down possibly two defenders on Wednesday. Felipe Andrade is serving a one-match suspension due to caution accumulation, and Erik Sviatchenko is questionable to miss his third straight match due to a lower-body injury.
Forward Guilherme leads Houston in both goals (six) and assists (five).
While the Dynamo have been rolling, Real Salt Lake (6-4-1, 19 points) are 1-3-0 in their last four matches. Saturday’s 3-1 loss to FC Dallas saw Salt Lake hold 67.8% of the possession, yet Dallas had a 6-3 edge in shots on target.
Though Salt Lake has scored 20 goals in 11 matches this season, sporting director Kurt Schmid feels RSL still has room for offensive improvement.
“We can be very good when we attack into space in transition moments,” Schmid said in a radio appearance on ESPN 700 Salt Lake. “We need to improve our ability to break down a more compact block defensively. How do we attack them, how do we get numbers in the box and how do we create chances when the other team doesn’t allow as much space in their block.”
Sergi Solans leads Real Salt Lake with five goals, and Morgan Guilavogui leads with five assists.
Defender Justen Glad is questionable for Wednesday’s lineup after missing the Dallas match due to a groin injury.
–Field Level Media
