Sports Mole previews Sunday's Major League Soccer clash between Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Fresh off the back of picking up their first MLS win of the season, Houston Dynamo journey to the Dick's Sporting Goods Park to square off against Colorado Rapid on Saturday.
Having failed to win any of the last five meetings between the two sides, the hosts will head into the weekend looking to get one over the Orange Crush and pick up their first home win of the campaign.
Match preview
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Colorado Rapids were denied consecutive wins for the first time in the new campaign as they could only salvage a 1-1 draw with Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field last Saturday.
Raul Ruidiaz converted his 11th-minute penalty to hand the Seattle Sounders a first-half lead but substitute Kevin Cabral came up clutch for the Rapids as he struck in the 87th minute to force a share of the spoils.
Chris Armas's men kicked off their season with a humbling 4-1 defeat against Portland Timbers at Providence Park on February 25, one week before playing out a 1-1 draw with a dogged Nashville side on home turf.
Colorado Rapids secured their first win of the season on March 10, when they edged out Real Salt Lake 2-1 at America First Field courtesy of goals in either half from Rafael Navarro and Cole Bassett.
After two games on the road, the Rapids now return to the Dick's Sporting Goods Park, where they have won just one of their last five matches in the league while losing twice and claiming two draws.
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Houston Dynamo, on the other hand, finally got their MLS campaign up and running last Sunday when they secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Portland Timbers on home turf.
In a cagey affair at the Shell Energy Stadium, Nigerian forward Ibrahim Aliyu netted the only goal of the game a few minutes before the half-time break to inspire Ben Olsen's men to their first league win of the season.
Prior to that, Houston Dynamo were dumped out of the CONCACAF Champions League in the round of 16 as they suffered a 2-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of Columbus Crew in a thrilling all-MLS showdown.
While the Orange Crush will now look to pick up where they left off against Portland Timbers, they have struggled to get going on their travels, where they are currently on a four-game winless run in the league, losing three and claiming one draw since October's 3-1 victory at Portland Timbers.
However, Houston Dynamo will be backing themselves this weekend as they take on an opposing side against whom they are unbeaten in each of their last five encounters, claiming two wins and three draws since a 1-0 defeat in October 2021.
Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer form:
- D
- L
- L
- D
- W
- D
Houston Dynamo Major League Soccer form:
- W
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
Houston Dynamo form (all competitions):
- D
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
Team News
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Colorado Rapids will have to cope without the defensive duo of Moise Bombito and Miguel Navarro, who are away on international duty Canada and Venezuela respectively.
On the injury front, the Rapids will take to the pitch without the services of German midfielder, Jasper Loffelsend, who came off injured against Real Salt Lake on March 10.
He is joined on the club's injury table by 22-year-old defender Daniel Chacon Salas, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines through a cruciate ligament tear.
Irish midfielder Connor Ronan missed last week's clash with Seattle Sounders through an injury and is also a major doubt for Colorado Rapids.
Houston Dynamo remain without the midfield duo of Nelson Quinones and 33-year-old Hector Herrera, who have been sidelined through knee injuries.
Sebastian Ferreira has missed the last six matches after coming off with a muscle injury against St. Louis City on February 21, while midfielder Amine Bassi is recuperating from a knock.
Danish defender Erik Sviatchenko sustained a severe hamstring injury in the 1-0 loss against Columbus Crew on March 7 and the 33-year-old is also out of contention for the Orange Crush.
Adalberto Carrasquilla is currently away with the Panama national team, while 20-year-old goalkeeper Xavier Valdez has been named in the Dominican Republic squad for their friendly against Peru on March 27.
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Steffen; Rosenberry, Bombito, Maxso, Vines; Larraz, Bassett; Harris, Fernandez, Mihailovic; R Navarro
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Dorsey, Bartlow, Micael, Escobar; Gregus, Artur, Raines; Cabral, Aliyu, Kowalczyk
We say: Colorado Rapids 1-2 Houston Dynamo
Buoyed by their win over Portland Timbers, Houston Dynamo will head into the weekend with renewed confidence as they look to put together a fine run of form. Olsen's men are unbeaten in their last five games against Colorado and we fancy them to come away with a narrow victory this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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