Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City will clash on Wednesday, May 12 at BBVA Compass Stadium in the fifth round of the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) season. It will mark their first meeting since October 2020 when Sporting beat Dynamo in Houston with 2-1.
Houston Dynamo vs Sporting Kansas City
When: Wednesday, May 12 – 19:30 CDT
Where: BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, TX
Weather: Partly cloudy, 22°C
Referee: Chris Penso
Based on how Dynamo have been performing so far this season, it wouldn’t be too wrong to say we might see Sporting Kansas City walk away with all three points. Especially considering that the visitors are one playoffs contenders with a 2-1-1 record on the season.
That said, neither side shies away from scoring a couple of goals, which could easily turn this bout into a high-scoring and chaotic affair.
Tab Ramos Can Be Happy With the Results
After finishing 2020 with a joint-worst record in the league, Tab Ramos’ men got off to a strong start of a new campaign. Their only loss came against Portland Timbers who beat them (1-2) by a single goal.
To that to they added a 2-1 victory against San Jose Earthquakes, and two draws against Los Angeles FC (1-1) and FC Dallas (1-1) in their last two outings.
Houston Dynamo are now 1-2-1 on the season with five points, which puts them in 11th spot in the West. Although not exactly a strong placement, it’s hard not to be optimistic about their future.
In their last four, Dynamo heavily depended on their defenders – Zarek Valentin and Adam Lundqvist to help create changes in the attack. The duo have done an excellent job at that and have played a huge factor in Dynamo’s 1.25 goal/game average.
Although there are other MLS teams who have proven to be far more effective in scoring goals, the Orange Crush have yet to see their 2020 top scorer Darwin Quintero produce a goal in 2021.
Regardless, Dynamo are showing good early signs and definitely seem like they’re on a good path to improve upon their showing in 2020. Granted, it’s hard to have a much worse season than what Ramos has had the last term.
Sporting KC Looking for their third win of the season
Sporting KC enter this match off a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Austin FC. Although the Wizards produced 14 big chances that match, they struggled to get past Austin’s defense.
They eventually scored two goals in quick succession in 82′ and 90′ to edge out what should probably be a straight-forward win for them. Before that, Sporting Kansas City lost to Real Salt Lake (1-3), drew with Orlando (1-1), and won their season opener against New York Red Bulls (1-2).
Even though starting a season with a 2-1-1 record isn’t terrible, Peter Vermes has a lot of work to do to make his side more competitive. Their main issue was their defensive midfield game – seeing how they failed to have more than 50% ball possession in three out of their last four matches.
What’s more, Sporting Kansas City have conceded in every match this season (6). On a more positive note, they have scored just as many goals and at least one in each match.
Their best scorer is midfielder Kinda Gadi with two goals to his name. He has proven to be a valuable player of the team as a loanee in 2020, with six goals in 17 games, and he seems to have carried over some of his goal-scoring form into 2021.
Houston Dynamo vs Sporting Kansas City Betting Picks
Both sides have been showing solid form in their opening four fixtures of the season. Another thing they have in common is their tendency to score goals, so it’s fair to expect both teams to find the back of the net at least once tonight.
Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City have scored at least once in each of their games and it doesn’t seem like that trend will end. While they know how to score, both sides are still a bit shaky when trying to stop their opponents to do the same.
What’s more, the head-to-head meetings between Dynamo and Sporting usually result in goals – at least three in all of the tier last four. Things don’t look much different in games played at the BBVA Compass Stadium, where we saw at least three goals in three out of their last four meetings.
Prediction: Over 3.00 goals
This MLS betting prediction is has been sent out to our members earlier today. For premium bets, join our premium membership for 50€ and start betting with us on soccer, tennis, and more. You can also check out all of our MLS picks for tonight below.
