Both Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders enter their clash on Thursday at the BBVA Stadium in Texas needing to put together a lengthy unbeaten run, with the hosts in sixth spot and the Sounders in 11th in the Western Conference.
Seattle are currently five points behind Houston, but they have two games in hand to their advantage, after a busy schedule at the start of the campaign due to a successful CONCACAF Champions League run.
Match preview
Progression in the Open Cup last week was followed by a 2-0 win against Nashville for Houston, who did not dominate possession in that match, but made the most of their chances in front of goal.
Adalberto Carrasquilla opened the scoring and, despite being reduced to 10 players after Adam Lundqvist was shown a straight red card, Darwin Quintero added a second from the penalty spot in the second half.
Paulo Nagamura's side had lost three consecutive league matches prior to Sunday's victory, which dented their positive start to the campaign, although, victory this Thursday will put them back on track to become a strong contender for a top-seven finish.
This is Houston's last home match before four consecutive away games across all competitions ahead of June's international break, so they will need to set themselves up well for their next string of fixtures on their travels with a win this week.
The Sounders have been unable to make as strong a start to their Western Conference campaign as they would have liked, with a lot of focus being directed at the Champions League throughout the beginning of this season.
After lifting that trophy earlier this month, Seattle will now feel that they can kick on in their domestic campaign, and improve on their current 11th-placed position.
Brian Schmetzer's side enter this match having bounced back from disappointment in the Open Cup last week, when they lost out to San Jose Earthquakes on penalties, by securing a 3-1 win over Minnesota United.
Second-half goals from Raul Ruidiaz, Cristian Roldan and Nicolas Lodeiro turned that game around for Seattle, who did enter the break 1-0 down after allowing Robin Lod to open the scoring for the visitors.
The Sounders finished third in the MLS last year, and having been involved in four of the last six MLS finals, there is an expectation on Schmetzer's side to vastly improve on their current position.
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Team News
Lundqvist will be forced to miss this encounter due to suspension, meaning that Sam Junqua is likely to make his first start of the campaign after featuring four times from the bench.
Centre-back Daniel Steres has not played for Houston since the end of March, and he will remain sidelined on Thursday as he is not expected to make his return from injury until later this month.
Darwin Ceren and Memo Rodriguez returned in midfield last time out, and they are likely to retain their places in the starting 11, as well as Quintero, who will lead the line instead of Carlos Ferreira.
Seattle's Joao Paulo was forced off in the first half in the CONCACAF Champions League final, and he is set for a lengthy period on the sidelines after damaging his cruciate ligaments.
Defender Nouhou Tolo was also replaced after just 11 minutes in that match due to injury, but he has made a full return and is likely to start at left-back on Thursday.
The Sounders' attacking quartet including Roldan, Lodeiro, Ruidiaz and Jordan Morris were in fine form last time out, and they are certain to be named in the lineup from the start in this outing.
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Junqua, Hadebe, Parker, Zeca; Ceren; Dorsey, Rodriguez, Carrasquilla, Picault; Quintero
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; Tolo, Arreaga, Gomez, Alex Roldan; Rusnak, Vargas; Morris, Lodeiro, Cristian Roldan; Ruidiaz
We say: Houston Dynamo 1-1 Seattle Sounders
Both teams enter this match on the back of positive victories, but they are likely to cancel each other out on Thursday, given their similar starts to the campaign, despite Seattle sitting five place beneath Houston.
The Sounders have played two fewer games, but have scored and conceded a similar total, suggesting that Dynamo and the Sounders will be relatively evenly matched in Texas.
For additional data used by our team to analyse our suggested result please click here.
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