Houston Dynamo FC open the week against the newly crowned Concacaf Champions League winners, Seattle Sounders FC. The Sounders visit PNC Stadium on Wednesday after a 3-1 victory over Minnesota United on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field.
Houston looks for their third consecutive victory in all competitions after they celebrated the 10th anniversary of PNC Stadium with a 2-0 victory over Nashville SC on Saturday. Forward Darwin Quintero scored his fifth goal of the season on Saturday after forward Fafa Picault suffered a foul inside the box. Quintero was a handful for the Nashville backline and finished with two chances created. The Colombian forward leads the team with five goals in the regular season and 16 chances created.
Defensively, Houston will be without defender Adam Lundkvist after he was ejected in the 35th minute for a foul. Additionally, centerback Teenage Hadebe will miss the match due to a yellow card, his fifth of the season.
Houston and Seattle split the series in 2021 with the Dynamo earning three points in the final meeting of the year, a 2-1 triumph at PNC Stadium on Oct. 16. Houston enters the game with the edge at home with a 5-2-4 record against the Sounders in the regular season.
The Sounders victory on Sunday snapped a two-game losing streak in all competitions. Seattle won the Concacaf Champions League earlier this month with a 5-2 aggregate triumph over Pumas UNAM from Liga MX on May 4. Since then, the Sounders dropped three points on the road against FC Dallas on May 7 and were eliminated from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on May 11 in a penalty shootout with the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Dynamo close the week in California when they visit Dignity Health Park to face the LA Galaxy at 7 p.m. CT. Fans can follow the action live on AT&T SportsNet in English or TeleXitos 47.2 in Spanish
Here are three key points ahead of Wednesday’s match:
- CARRASQUILLA KEY IN VICTORY: Midfielder Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla scored his first goal of the year in Houston’s victory on Saturday, only days after the team exercised the option to purchase the 23-year-old from FC Cartagena in Spain. Carrasquilla finished with the match with five interceptions and 12 recoveries as the team played nearly the final hour with 10 men. Overall, the Panamanian international leads the team with 79 recoveries and leads the midfield with 13 interceptions this season. Offensively, Carrasquilla has created eight chances this season, tied for third most on the team behind Fafa Picault (9) and Darwin Quintero (16).
- DYNAMO DEPTH TESTED BEFORE FIFA WINDOW: Wednesday’s game is the third match at PNC Stadium in eight days and fourth game since May 7. The Dynamo will navigate an additional three games this month as they travel to three states prior to the FIFA break. The Dynamo have used three different lineups during this stretch and 25 players have seen the field for the Dynamo. Houston holds a 2-1-0 record in this opening stretch and look for a key three points at home prior to three consecutive matches away from home.
- SEATTLE SNAP WINLESS STREAK: The victory over Minnesota gave Seattle a valuable three points after they opened the season with seven points from their first eight games. The Sounders look to make up ground after falling to the bottom three spots in the Western Conference prior to Sunday’s game. Seattle typically find their form in the final stretch of the season and they look to qualify for the postseason for the 14th consecutive time since they joined the league in 2009.
