The Seattle Sounders are visiting the Houston Dynamo on Saturday in their first of two meetings this season. Here is everything you need to know:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. PT at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas.
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available to watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air in English on 950 KJR AM and in Spanish on El Rey 1360AM.
2023 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 6-3-2 (20 points, 1st West), Dynamo: 4-3-2 (14 points, 6th West)
FORM GUIDE (most recent first, MLS matches only): Seattle: LDWLW, Houston: DWDWL
PREVIOUS MEETING: The Sounders defeated the Dynamo 2-1 at Lumen Field on Sept. 4, 2022. Daniel Steres opened the scoring for the visitors in the 26th minute before Nouhou’s first MLS goal in the 59th minute plus a 76th-minute tally from Fredy Montero gave the Rave Green all three points.
JOÃO PAULO RETURNS FROM SUSPENSION: After missing last weekend’s match against Sporting Kansas City because of yellow-card accumulation, Sounders midfielder João Paulo will be back and available on Saturday.
DOMINATING THE DYNAMO: Seattle has beaten Houston in 10 of the last 11 meetings (including the playoffs) since June 2017. The Sounders are the second team in the MLS post-shootout era to defeat a single opponent 10 times in an 11-match span.
SOUNDERS REST: Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer elected to heavily rotate his squad for Seattle’s midweek U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 match at the LA Galaxy. Stefan Frei, Alex Roldan, Yeimar, Jackson Ragen, Albert Rusnák, Jordan Morris and Héber all got the evening off, while Nicolás Lodeiro and João Paulo made second-half substitute appearances.
ROAD CLEAN SHEETS: The Sounders are coming off a scoreless draw at Real Salt Lake the last time they went on the road in MLS play. A shutout in Houston would mark the first time the Sounders have had back-to-back road clean sheets since the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs when they blanked the Vancouver Whitecaps and then, coincidentally, the Houston Dynamo.
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DYNAMO HOME SHUTOUTS: Houston, meanwhile, has been one of the best home teams in MLS so far this season and has yet to concede a goal. The 2023 Dynamo are one of just four teams in MLS history to open a season with five consecutive home clean sheets, joining this year’s Sounders in accomplishing a feat that had only been done twice before in league history.
DYNAMO ADVANCE IN OPEN CUP: After the Sounders fell at home to Sporting KC last weekend, Houston defeated SKC midweek in the U.S. Open Cup to advance to the Round of 16. Thor Úlfarsson scored in the 12th minute, and the Dynamo withstood a 35th-minute red card to Chase Gasper to hold on to a 1-0 win.
HH COOKING: When the Dynamo signed Mexican legend Hector Herrera to a Designated Player deal last summer, he got off to an inauspicious start. So far in 2023, Herrera has been one of the league’s best two-way central midfielders, scoring twice and adding two assists in eight matches while bossing the middle of the park.
