The Houston Dynamo take to the road for the first of three straight MLS away games this Saturday, starting with the Chicago Fire (4 p.m. CT; ROOT SPORTS). Chicago is coming off a 1-0 loss in Harrison, New Jersey, to the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night, their third loss in a row to push their record to 1-5-4 (7 points).
The Fire have boasted a strong defense this season, allowing just 13 goals in 10 games. The biggest issue has been in the attack, where they have only scored eight goals (last in MLS). Almost half of those came on opening day in a 4-3 loss.
After trading away Homegrown playmaker Harry Shipp at the beginning of the year, the Fire have struggled to create much in the final third. As a reaction, Chicago announced on Tuesday the signing of Dutch forward Michael de Leeuw, though he will not be available to the Fire until after July 4.
Here's how Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle broke down their squad: "Chicago have been a little bit like us actually, in respect of they’ve played well in a lot of their games and they’ve probably not had the points that their performances have merited. I think they have brought an influx of new players in to the team. Two carryovers are David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike are both very good players and loaded with pace and always a threat. They added some young players and some experienced players to fit (head coach) Veljko Paunović’s philosophy and how he wants to see them play.
"It will be my first time going to Chicago and we’ve shown that our level of performance on the road has been good and the only thing missing is points to go with that. It will be a tough game but it is one we are excited about to go there and win valuable points."
