Houston Dynamo host CF Montréal this Saturday evening at Shell Energy Stadium, the Eastern Conference basement dwellers, in what on paper turns out to be a less important game than it seems. After a madcap month of May that saw nine games played, 17 goals knocked about, and a run of good form snapped by a flat 3-1 defeat to Sporting Kansas City at home, the Texan side must quickly pick themselves up in front of the home faithful.
The head coach, Ben Olsen, recognizes that there will no longer be room for mistakes and that this match with the Canadian squad presents a good opportunity to return to the winning ways and rebuild morale in the course of the last part of the MLS season.
Offensive play is better but without consistency
Despite the previous misfire, Houston Dynamo concluded the month of May on a good attacking footing. There were nine matches with 17 goals and three wins without letting one in during the month. Ezequiel Ponce leads the offense with six goals in the total and four during the MLS regular season.
While the leading forename belongs to Ponce, the creative drive is being led by Griffin Dorsey and Jack McGlynn as the better-known names. Dorsey leads the team with six assists, with McGlynn close on their heels with five. McGlynn will not play the match, however, with the United States national team recalling him for the Gold Cup.
Montréal faces a crisis and comes short of full power
Conversely, CF Montréal faces a whole different kind of stretch. Having won only one game in an all-time low of 17 matches, the team travels to Texas with instability, missing players, and an uncertain backdrop. The team comes on the heels of a 3-0 home loss to New England Revolution on the 31st of May.
Added to that disappointment will be the absence of four of his squad members who were recalled for the Gold Cup: midfielders Nathan Saliba and Olger Escobar, and defenders Dante Sealy and Joel Waterman. Forward Giacomo Vrioni will not play the game after being red-carded during the same match.
Despite demoralizing circumstances, forward Prince Owusu is Montréal's most reliable on offense. With four goals and two assists in the regular season under his belt, he will be the target for Houston's defense.
History does favor the home team
The two sides stand at level in their head-to-head with both sides having eight wins. However, if the match would play itself out in Houston, all of that changed. Dynamo have won seven of nine home regular season matches against Montréal, with one defeat and one draw. Montréal visited Shell Energy Stadium last in August of the year of 2022, when they won with a score of 3-2.