In the past season and a half under head coach Wilmer Cabrera, Houston Dynamo have turned BBVA Compass Stadium into one of the most difficult places to play in Major League Soccer. Last season they collected 40 points at home, and this season they have only two losses in front of the friendly crowd. To defeat them, the Union need to be able to counterattack with pace and attack space behind the center backs when they get into the attacking third.
They also need to control one of the low key best offensive trios in Major League Soccer.
If you are making a list of MVP candidates and Alberth Elis is not your dark horse… what are you doing? The Honduran winger has nine goals and seven assists, and he has at least three shots in two thirds of his starts this season. Elis is the only thing keeping Miguel Almiron and Josef Martinez from maintaining a stranglehold on the top two Expected Goals + Expected Assists per match spots in MLS, and he’s doing it with far less fanfare than Atlanta’s dynamic duo.
Now let’s say you’re looking for the most productive attacking duos outside of Atlanta’s pair, and your eyes drift to Los Angeles where Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ola Kamara have been going Bash Brothers on opponents — including, unfortunately, the Union — recently.
Nope. Elis and his Honduran partner in productivity Romell Quioto are the only other teammates in the top ten of xG+xA per match. Quioto, hitting his prime at age 26 and now in his second MLS season, has been masterful for the Dynamo this year. He has taken the extra pressure teams apply to him in stride, willingly dishing the ball off and curling in teasing early crosses that striker Mauro Manotas can attack as center backs backpedal. Manotas has already matched his 2017 production in almost 500 fewer minutes, and he’s easily the third most dangerous member of this front three. If you think big money is a prerequisite for elite offensive production, Houston is the counterargument you must explain: These guys are all studs that have found their feet in their second season in Cabrera’s fairly direct system that offers ample opportunity for individual flair.
The Basics
Who. Houston Dynamo, 8th in the Western Conference (but in a virtual tie with Real Salt Lake for 6th in points per game). The Dynamo are 6-2-2 at home this season.
When. 9:00 PM EST on Wednesday, July 25.
Where. BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, TX.
Watch. LiveWell Network, streaming on Philadelphiaunion.com.
The Stakes
A win moves the Union one point behind New England and Montreal for sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings, and it puts them above the Impact on points per match. With two games against the Revs in August, that means Philly is in position to make a run at a playoff spot.
Form
The Dynamo are 1-1-3 in their last five, with the victory a 3-0 drubbing of Minnesota and the loss a 3-2 defeat on the road to Sporting KC. In their last match, they exchanged goals with FC Dallas in the first ten minutes then played out a subdued match that only got heated when Joe Willis stoned Roland Lamah’s penalty and Mauro Manotas was immediately called offsides as the Dynamo stormed up the pitch following the spot kick.
Rewind
These teams have yet to play this season. The Union are 2-5-0 with 6 goals scored and 11 conceded all-time in Houston.
Big Picture
The Dynamo come out in a 4-3-3 that creates big gaps between players. Their individual skill on the wings is the team’s biggest competitive advantage so they want isolate Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto whenever possible. Tomas Martinez and Mauro Manotas act as links between the back six and the wide players, Martinez will often seek to hide behind the opposition midfielders and open up for passes out of the back line. However, when Houston is struggling to move the ball out of the back, he will push forward and leave a hole for Manotas to drop into.
Once the ball is out of the back, the Dynamo want to make their opponents face their own goal. Quioto will play early balls in behind or Elis will utilize his superhuman speed to drive toward the endline while Manotas crashes the box and Martinez searches for second balls. The two holding midfielders look to protect against counterattacks, so most of the time the Dynamo are attacking with four players plus the ball-side fullback.
One interesting aspect of the Dynamo system is that the fullbacks will advance inside of their wingers. This forces the defense to choose between pulling a man out of the middle, switching a winger onto Quioto or Elis (uh oh…) or allowing a center back to roll across to pick up Houston fullback. Depending on the choice, the Dynamo can then move Martinez over into empty space in the center, play the ball to the fullback, or let their winger operate 1v1. This advanced fullback play is made possible by the holding midfielders, who are not shy about coming out of the center to close down in transition.
Big battles
Union fullbacks vs Houston wingers. The obvious one. The Union will need to have well-rehearsed ideas about how to respond when Keegan Rosenberry and Ray Gaddis — the likely fullback starters — are isolated. Ale Bedoya could help on the right, but Philly could also ask a winger to drop and focus on playing across the pitch when countering.
Union transition attack vs Houston center backs. As if “former Arsenal center back” wasn’t a worrying title in itself, Philippe Senderos is also an old former Arsenal center back. The hulking defender can certainly handle himself once he’s established a position, but in transition he does not have the speed or the forward-foot instincts — something both Union central defenders utilize quite well — to snuff out attacks once they begin. The Union need to use angled runs to get behind Senderos in transition rather than making wide runs.
Fafa Picault vs Adolfo Machado. Picault has been the Union’s most dangerous winger this season, and if he begins producing goals the back half of the Union’s season starts to look a lot brighter. Picault has taken the game to his opponents in the first half against both Los Angeles and Chicago, and he’ll have a favorable matchup if Cabrera stick with Adolfo Machado at right back. Machado is not a fullback, and he’s prone to a clumsy tackle. If Philly can get the ball behind the defense to Picault, they should be able to push Houston back and control play.
Big questions
- Will all the big names play? The answer is likely yes. Even with five games in 15 days — which finishes up in Portland this Saturday — the Dynamo will probably throw all their top talent onto the pitch Wednesday because it’s a home game, and they absolutely need to win at home to survive. Additionally, there is no scoring depth along the orange bench: After the front three’s 22 strikes and Tomas Martinez’s five, nobody except the central defenders (two apiece) has more than a goal.
- How will the Union respond after LA? The loss to the Galaxy was just the latest match in which Philly played well but came up short. They have rebounded well after most defeats, but there’s something about the oppressive heat of Houston that can take the life out of a team. With no game this Saturday, Philly will need to retain their focus in difficult conditions and avoid looking ahead to a much needed break.
- Who starts across the front line for Philly? Jim Curtin is looking for someone to break out and claim the right winger position until Ilsinho returns from injury. Both David Accam and Marcus Epps have had a shot but neither locked things up against Orlando City and Los Angeles respectively. Both players have enough talent to get at a clunky Houston defense, but they need to put on a show and make Curtin’s decisions difficult when Ilsinho is back in the fold.
