Heading into the weekend Minnesota United sit five points outside the playoffs. In order to get into the playoffs the Loons may need to win out earning 12 points in the last three weeks. In order to do that though they will need to take down Houston Dynamo in in the Lone Star State, a location the Loons have struggled to earn three points in.
Last week against St. Louis showed that Minnesota United is able to beat any club in the league. But a key factor the Loons have struggled with is scoring first and that was no exception last week. Should Minnesota go down early the Loons will have a tough time digging themselves out of a whole as Houston holds the fifth best defence in Major League Soccer. Dynamo have allowed an average of just 1.3 goals per match, although they did give up two goals to Minnesota two weeks ago.
The biggest concern for Minnesota United will be their own defence. MNUFC's offence has proven it can score, but defensively the Loons have not held a clean sheet in league play since July when they drew nil–nil against Vancouver. Guilherme Augusto leads Houston in goals (16) and assists (8) this season and is a key target the Loons will need to shut down. Minnesota were able to contain him in their last meeting, but now it will need to be done on Houston's home pitch.
News & Notes
MNUFC are 11-6-8 (W-D-L) all time against Houston Dynamo. However they Loons are just 4-3-7 when playing the Dynamo in Houston, TX.
Peter Stroud has returned to full training, but is not available for selection. Alec Smir is still out due to injury, but should be ready to return in the next few weeks.
Want to watch the match with other supporters, there are plenty of options. Dark Clouds will have watch parties at Beckett's in Minneapolis and at Black Hart of Saint Paul with the Red Loons. While TNE will be at Padraigs Brewing in Minneapolis.
TV time is set for 7:30pm this evening with kickoff happening at approximately 7:39pm. You can watch the match on Apple TV or listen to it on 1500 ESPN.
Availability
MIN | Out: Alec Smir (lower extremity), Peter Stroud (lower extremity); Questionable: None
HOU | Out: Felipe Andrade (lower body), Jimmy Maurer (back), and Agustin Resch (suspended) ; Questionable: None
