Riding High From LA, Houston Dynamo Head to Utah for Midweek Battle
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo will look to ride the momentum of Sunday’s win in Los Angeles as they take on Real Salt Lake tonight. Houston picked up a big 4-1 win on Sunday over LAFC, their sixth win in seven matches in all competitions. RSL lost 3-1 on the road against FC Dallas on Saturday night in their last match.
When: Wednesday, May 13 | 8:40 PM CT kickoff
Where: America First Field; Sandy, Utah
TV/Stream: Apple TV
Midweek in Utah
Last Wednesday night, Houston played at America First Field in Utah. That was the Dash against the Utah Royals in NWSL play. Houston lost that match 2-0 and now the Dynamo head to the same stadium a week later. Utah is always a tough place to play with the altitude, especially coming off a match on Sunday night. Real Salt Lake have won 10 of 15 all-time regular season home meetings against the Dynamo, losing just twice. One of those losses came when Ben Olsen was the coach, the Dynamo winning 3-0 in 2023.
No Rest Till the World Cup
Believe it or not, the FIFA World Cup is now less than a month away. Major League Soccer will be taking a break during the tournament. After May 23, the Dynamo won’t play another regular season match until July 22. Before then, however, the next eleven days will be a grind. Tonight’s match is the first of four in these eleven days. Tonight at Salt Lake, Saturday at home against Vancouver, May 19 away at St. Louis in the Open Cup, and May 23 away at the LA Galaxy. Ben Olsen has talked about needing everyone on their roster to navigate this stretch and the coaching staff will definitely be mixing and matching players and lineups.
Moon Rising
Real Salt Lake star Diego Luna is heating up at the right time. Like the Dynamo’s Jack McGlynn, Luna is fighting for a spot on the United States Men’s National Team roster for the World Cup. That roster will be announced in the next couple of weeks and Luna is putting his best foot forward. The 22-year-old has scored in each of RSL’s last two matches and he can be a match up nightmare anywhere on the field. He likes to operate on the left but can drift centrally, or even to the right, to take on defenders and set up attacks. Luna, along with teenager Zavier Gozo and Designated Player Morgan Guilavogui give Salt Lake a lot of threats that Houston will have to be aware of.
Houston Dynamo FC – Out: Felipe Andrade (yellow card accumulation), Lucas Halter (lower body), Jimmy Maurer (head); Questionable: Erik Sviatchenko (lower body)
Real Salt Lake – Out: Emeka Eneli (knee), Ari Piol (Achilles), Jesus Barea (knee); Questionable: Lukas Engel (hip), Justen Glad (groin), Juan Jose Arias (groin)
Predicted Lineup
