The Seattle Sounders have stumbled a bit out of the gate and will be looking to get back on the right track when they host the Houston Dynamo tonight. The Sounders have never lost the Dynamo at home, going 12-0-3 across all competitions, which includes a shootout win in last year’s playoff encounter.

The Dynamo have struggled even more out of the gate this year, going 0-3-1. Notably, their one tie came on the road against the Columbus Crew.

This match will also mark the return of Nicolás Lodeiro, who is arguably the Sounders’ greatest all-time player. He left the Sounders after the 2023 season, spent last year with Orlando City and has started the past two games for the Dynamo.

Here’s what you need to know:

Injury news

Sounders

OUT: Paul Arriola - Knee; Reed Baker-Whiting - Hamstring; Pedro de la Vega - Quad; Jordan Morris - Hamstring; Nouhou - International Duty; Obed Vargas - International Duty

Dynamo

OUT: Lawrence Ennali – Knee; Duane Holmes – Lower Leg; Jack McGlynn – International Duty; Nelson Quiñónes – Knee; Brooklyn Raines – International Duty; Sebastián Rodríguez – International Duty; Andrew Tarbell – Knee

QUESTIONABLE: Erik Sviatchenko – Lower Body

Opposition players to watch

Lodeiro might not be the Dynamo’s most important player, but he will almost certainly be their most motivated. The Dynamo were hoping to add a high-level playmaker in the offseason, but have added Lodeiro to help bridge the gap to the next one after selling Coco Carrasquilla. Lodeiro has been playing mostly on the right, but floats around all over the field just like he always has, which both makes him hard to track but also opens up gaps to be exploited on the counter.
Ezequiel Ponce was signed last summer to be the No. 9 the Dynamo had long needed. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Although Ponce’s seven goals in 19 appearances aren’t necessarily bad, he’s just never had the sort of influence the Dynamo surely envisioned. But he is a player that needs to be accounted for and has shown himself capable when given chances.

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Stats to look smart

1 — As dominant as the Sounders have been at home against the Dynamo, their record is perhaps a little deceiving. Of their 15 meetings in Seattle, eight of them have been decided by a goal or less, which includes their last four meetings. These are usually cagey affairs, with only two of their all-time meetings being decided by more than two goals.

47.8% — Ben Olsen had turned the Dynamo into one of the most ball-dominant teams in the league over the past two years, but this year the Dynamo are closer to the bottom. Their 47.8% average possession ranks 21st in MLS, which is likely the result of simply not having the sort of midfield quality they once had. That does not appear to be a change by design, as they still rank near the top in the league in terms of attempted short passes and near the bottom in other types.

Tactics to impress

Jesús Ferreira’s first start of the regular season did not go as smoothly as anyone had hoped, but that’s likely due at least in part to his different style of play than Jordan Morris and the limited reps they had together. With something like a full week of training, the Sounders will hopefully have a better understanding of the way Ferreira likes to make runs, which are often more inside-out and nuanced than the straight-line speed of Morris. Ferreira operates best in the pockets and will hopefully be given more chances to exploit that.
Even though they haven’t been super effective, the Dynamo are still a possession team at their core. They want to pick defenses apart with long sequences of short passing, and prefer to defend with the ball as well. The Sounders have so far been one of the most aggressive counter-pressing teams in the league and have a chance to exploit that Dynamo preference.