Major League Soccer is back in our lives for yet another season of action across North America. We’re in the early stages of the new campaign but there’s already so much to get excited about from West to East, as the majority of teams gear up for a hopeful run to the MLS Cup. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what promises to be an intriguing clash between Houston Dynamo and Portland Timbers.
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.
In their most recent outing a few weeks back, Houston played host to New York Red Bulls - and while they certainly had their fair share of moments throughout the course of the game, they ultimately fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat.
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.
Portland went on the road to face New York City last weekend and, for the most part, did really well. They went toe to toe with them and came away with a real morale-boosting 2-1 victory.
Match PredictionHouston and Portland seem to be heading in different directions right now based on the early evidence, and we also tend to think there’s a clear gap in terms of overall quality. For that reason, we’re going to shoot for a prediction of Portland securing the win.
