The Houston Dynamo can put a dent in the playoff aspirations of the New England Revolution when they welcome the 2021 MLS Supporters' Shield winners to PNC Stadium on Tuesday.
Orange Crush were officially eliminated from postseason contention thanks to a 0-0 draw versus Sporting Kansas City over the weekend, while the Revs are on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture following a 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls.
Match preview
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For a fifth consecutive campaign, Dynamo fans will have to wait until next year for a postseason opportunity, as their team failed to score for the first time since July 30.
The Paulo Nagamura era began with so much promise, as Houston earned points in six of their opening seven games this season, but as in recent campaigns, they failed to sustain that early momentum, winning only five games since that solid beginning, and the Brazilian coach paid the price as he was sacked after their 2-1 defeat versus the Seattle Sounders.
In their first match for interim boss Kenny Bundy on Saturday, the Dynamo were forced to play defensive for a significant portion of that encounter when they were reduced to 10 men late in the opening half, as the 41-year-old coach put together a more conservative approach in the final 45 minutes.
Since July, Houston have only managed one victory at home, edging Los Angeles FC 2-1 at the end of August, the lone time in their last six matches played at PNC Stadium in which they had conceded fewer than two goals.
Five of their six clean sheets this year have come in front of their home fans, where they have won a mere five games this season, the fewest among Western Conference clubs.
If they can manage to concede fewer than six goals in their final four encounters of 2022, statistically speaking, it would be their best defensive showing in a regular season since 2017, as Orange Crush have allowed 48 goals so far this year.
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New England may still be in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Columbus Crew by three points, but they have often been their own worst enemies.
Over the weekend, Bruce Arena saw his side fail to hang onto an early second-half advantage, losing 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls, having now lost an MLS-high 29 points this season from winning positions.
As we have seen them often do in 2022, the Revs heavily depended on their goalkeeper this weekend, allowing five or more shots on target for the fifth time in their last six games.
The Revs are winless in three straight road fixtures, having been outscored 8-3 over that stretch, though they have not lost a regular season affair in Houston since 2014.
On the road this season versus Western Conference opponents, New England have managed to pick up five points out of a possible nine, with their lone triumph coming at Children's Mercy Park in June (2-1).
They are winless in their last four matches in which they have conceded the opening goal, with their last victory in that scenario coming on June 19 when the Revolution defeated Minnesota United 2-1.
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Team News
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Steve Clark stopped six KC efforts on Saturday, collecting his sixth clean sheet of the campaign for the Dynamo and the 50th of his career, while Adalberto Carrasquilla has an assist in two of his last three games, his only two so far of the campaign.
Sebastian Ferreira leads them with 10 goals this year, followed by Darwin Quintero who has seven, while their top goalscorer from 2021, Fafa Picault, has only tallied on five occasions, six fewer than in his previous campaign.
Griffin Dorsey is eligible to return from his yellow card suspension, Matias Vera will be suspended for this encounter after receiving a pair of first-half cautions versus SKC, Memo Rodriguez and Hector Herrera will be questionable with left and right leg injuries, respectively, while Daniel Steres has a problem with his right arm.
Tommy McNamara got the Revs on the board this past weekend, as he has now appeared on the scoresheet in six of his last eight games, Gustavo Bou earned his second assist of 2022, Noel Buck made his third straight start and Nacho Gil debuted off the bench replacing Jon Bell, completing all seven of his passes made in the final seven minutes plus stoppage time.
Nacho's brother and reigning league MVP Carles Gil was unavailable as he was in Boston with his wife for the birth of their first child, while Giacomo Vrioni made his first appearance since July 30.
Wilfrid Kaptoum collected his first cap since August 17, and Andrew Farrell became the first player in club history to appear in 300 regular season affairs for the Revolution.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Valentin, Parker, Hadebe, Lundqvist; Ceren, Carrasquilla; Ulfarsson, Quintero, Picault; Ferreira
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Jones, Bell, Farrell, Bye; McNamara, Polster; N. Gil, Maciel, Buck; Bou
We say: Houston Dynamo 1-2 New England Revolution
As inconsistent as the Revs have been throughout the regular season, they have a good track record of points in Houston recently, and we believe the extra motivation of being in the playoff hunt will carry them through against a Dynamo side who are not the best when it comes to creating scoring chances.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
