Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Major League Soccer clash between Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Real Salt Lake will be looking to bounce back from a rare defeat last time out when they welcome Houston Dynamo to America First Field on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the away side make the trip to Utah in search of a third consecutive victory to continue their recent resurgence.
Match preview
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Real Salt Lake suffered were on the receiving end of a narrow 1-0 defeat against Los Angeles Galaxy in Thursday’s meeting between the teams.
Gabriel Pec‘s opener half an hour into the second period proved enough to sink Pablo Mastroeni‘s men in what was a nervy and cagey contest.
As a result, the Claret and Cobalt have now dropped down to third in the Western Conference of the MLS table, three points behind the Los Angeles duo – LA Galaxy and LA FC.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have lost just one of the last six editions of this fixture, winning four of the other five clashes.
Fresh off the back of a first defeat on seven home outings, Thursday’s hosts now go in search of an immediate response in front of their fans.
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Houston Dynamo narrowly saw off the threat of Charlotte FC following a 1-0 victory at the Shell Energy Stadium on Sunday.
Ben Olsen‘s men made a fast start to the game and took the lead after just five minutes through Ibrahim Aliyu whose opener proved decisive in Texas.
With 30 points picked up from 20 games to date, El Naranja sit sixth in the Western Conference standings, one point outside the top four.
Having scored eight times across their last three away outings, Thursday’s visitors will back themselves wreck havoc on enemy territory once again.
Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer form:
Houston Dynamo Major League Soccer form:
Team News
Forward Cristian Arango is a doubt for Real Salt Lake here after coming off with an injury scare against LA Galaxy last time out.
Twenty-one-year-old Carlos Andres Gomez received his fifth yellow card of the season in the aforementioned game and will not feature for the hosts.
Jose Bonilla and Erik Holt miss out through knee injuries, while Marcelo Silva continues to work his way back up to full fitness from an ankle problem.
Houston’s Franco Escobar will serve a one-match suspension here, ruling the Argentine ineligible to play any part.
The away side will also be without the services of Nelson Quinones and McKinze Gaines but the latter is drawing close to a return to action
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Brody, Hidalgo, Oviedo, Katranis; Palacio, Ojeda; Luna, Crooks, Barajas; Arango
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Steres, Micael, Sviatchenko, Dorsey; Herrera, Artur; Aliyu, Bassi, Blessing; Vidal
We say: Real Salt Lake 3-1 Houston Dynamo
The teams boast similar defensive numbers heading into this one but Real Salt Lake have been vastly superior at the top end of the pitch and we are backing them to emerge victorious at the sound of the final whistle here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.