After last Saturday's 2-1 defeat on the road to Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the Houston Dynamo dropped one spot in the weekly MLSsoccer.com Power Rankings.
The Dynamo fell to No. 8, staying in the 7-8-9 range that they've remained in for the last several weeks. Here's what the pollsters had to say this week:
Will be very interested to see how Wilmer Cabrera handles his forward rotation down the stretch. It will be crucial to get the right players hitting their stride at the right time.
Cabrera and the Dynamo were without Alberth Elis and Erick Torres in Vancouver, as Elis served a suspension for yellow card accumulation and Torres was rested ahead of a three games in eight days stretch. Romell Quioto returned to the scoresheet in their absence, however, and the full complement of players will be available for Heineken Rivalry Week as the team faces FC Dallas in Frisco on Wednesday (7 p.m CT | UniMás, Facebook Live) and hosts Sporting Kansas City on Saturday (8 p.m. CT | TICKETS).
Both are crucial games as the Dynamo aim to stay with the leaders in the Western Conference playoff race. Going into the week, Houston sits in the third place with 37 points – just three points behind leaders Kansas City and Seattle Sounders, but also just four points ahead of seventh-place San Jose Earthquakes.
