With the majority of top leagues across Europe coming to an end, it’s time for Major League Soccer to step up. There are plenty of reasons why this campaign has the potential to be incredibly exciting but beyond that, it’s just been nice to see the continued growth and development of the game in North America. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the upcoming clash between Portland Timbers and Houston Dynamo.
Portland Form GuidePortland, historically speaking, have had some great moments across their time in the MLS - and last season, they were somewhat unlucky to miss out on the playoffs as they wound up just one point outside of the wild card spots. Still, despite being so close, it’s worth noting that they have some big improvements to make, especially when you look at their defensive record.
On the face of it, five wins in 16 games should be a cause for worry if you’re a Portland fan. At the same time, though, they certainly know how to score with 30 goals thus far, and if they can get themselves sorted defensively, the sky is the limit.
Houston Form GuideHouston Dynamo had a pretty strong end to the season last year and as such, were able to vault their way to fourth spot. In their three-game series with Real Salt Lake, they were taken to penalties on two occasions. They came out on top, went on to defeat Kansas City in the conference semi-finals, and ultimately ran out of gas in a 2-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC.
Nobody really knows what to expect from Houston from week to week and that’s been the case for a while now. They have six wins, three draws and six losses to their name after 15 games with a goal difference of zero. They have the best defensive record in the conference, but they also have the worst goalscoring record.
Match PredictionWe’re at the point in the MLS season now where it’s time to start really making some noise, and it feels like these two sides are aware of that. They both have attacking threats and in this game, we expect to see them showcase that. Therefore, we’re going to shoot for over 2.5 goals scored.
