The Basics
Houston Dynamo vs. Seattle Sounders FC
Sunday, October 21, 2018, 4:00 p.m. CT
BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, Texas
Broadcast Information
KUBE 57 – 3:30 p.m. (CHANNEL LISTINGS)
ESPN+ – 4:00 p.m. (out-of-market)
650 AM/Radio.com app – 3:30 p.m.
Univision Radio 1010 AM – 3:30 p.m.
Preview
Fresh off clinching a playoff berth for the 10th consecutive season, the Seattle Sounders FC are looking to improve their positioning, while the Houston Dynamo are trying to bounce back from consecutive defeats.
The Sounders booked their ticket to the Audi 2018 MLS Cup playoffs with a 2-1 win over Orlando City SC on Wednesday night, while the Dynamo fell to LAFC, 4-2, last Friday.
This is the teams' second meeting this season, with the Sounders cruising to a 4-1 win two weeks ago at CenturyLink Field. Will Bruin and Cristian Roldan scored before the break and Victor Rodriguez netted a brace after halftime before DaMarcus Beasley scored the Dynamo’s lone goal three minutes from full time.
- Ranking the top 10 personnel moves of 2018
- Warshaw: Wednesday's difference-makers in MLS
- Cabrera: Dynamo's defensive play "not good enough"
Houston Dynamo
Houston (9-15-8) conceded four goals for a second straight game, losing at LAFC, 4-2, last Friday.
Mauro Manotas gave the Dynamo the lead in the 33rd minute, but Carlos Vela’s brace bookended four consecutive goals, which included tallies from Adama Diomande and Walker Zimmerman, before Andrew Wenger halved Houston’s deficit in the 80th minute.
“The two games that we’ve played, defensively we’ve been poor,” Wilmer Cabrera said. “Our players haven’t played at the level we have to play. When you’re talking about Seattle or LAFC, you have to play your best level and it wasn’t.”
- Suspended: M - Darwin Ceren
- Suspended after next caution: M - Boniek Garcia, M - Adam Lundqvist, D - Leonardo
- International duty: None
- Injury Report: OUT: D - Philippe Senderos (hamstring injury), M - Eric Alexander (left hamstring injury), D - Jared Watts (right hip injury), F - Mac Steeves (hip surgery); QUESTIONABLE: D - Leonardo (right adductor injury)
Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Joe Willis — Andrew Wenger, Adolfo Machado, Kevin Garcia, DaMarcus Beasley — Boniek Garcia, Juan Cabezas — Memo Rodriguez, Tomas Martinez, Adam Lundqvist — Mauro Manotas
Seattle Sounders FC
It’s now three consecutive wins for Seattle (16-11-5), which clinched a playoff berth with a 2-1 win over Orlando City SC Wednesday night at Orlando City Stadium.
Red-hot Rodriguez opened the scoring in the third minute and Handwalla Bwana doubled the Sounders lead 10 minutes later.
“We talked about that before the game, about not backing in [to the playoffs], about not waiting until the games tonight,” Brian Schmetzer said. “So big achievement, big achievement for the club.”
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: D - Jordy Delem, M - Osvaldo Alonso
- International duty: None
- Injury Report: OUT: F - Jordan Morris (torn ACL), F - Felix Chenkam (herniated disc), M - Harry Shipp (right hamstring strain), D - Brad Smith (right hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE: D - Roman Torres (right knee contusion)
Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Stefan Frei — Kelvin Leerdam, Kim Kee-hee, Chad Marshall, Nouhou Tolo — Gustav Svensson, Osvaldo Alonso — Cristian Roldan, Nico Lodeiro, Victor Rodriguez — Raul Ruidiaz
All-Time Series
- Overall: Houston Dynamo 4 wins, 17 goals … Seattle Sounders FC 6 wins, 23 goals … 6 draws
- At Houston: Dynamo 4 wins, 14 goals … Sounders 0 wins, 8 goals … 4 draws
- Last meeting at Houston: Houston Dynamo 2, Seattle Sounders FC 1 (March 4, 2017)
Officials
Referee: Dave Gantar
Assistant Referees: Jeff Hosking, Felisha Mariscal
4th Official: Victor Rivas
VAR: Armando Villarreal
