Orlando City SC vs. Houston Dynamo | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Orlando City SC vs. Houston Dynamo
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 30
Orlando City Stadium — Orlando
Sept. 22 — 7:30 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

Fresh off a big win over the Portland Timbers, the Houston Dynamo seek consecutive wins for the first time since late May when they take on an Orlando City SC side that has won just once in their last 19 games.

While the Dynamo snapped a 10-game winless streak with a 4-1 home win over the Timbers, the Lions dropped a 4-0 decision to the Chicago Fire Sunday afternoon.

Orlando City SC

Orlando (7-18-3) is coming off back-to-back shutout defeats, including falling to the Chicago Fire, 4-0, Sunday at Toyota Park.

Nemanja Nikolic scored the first of his two goals three minutes after kickoff and Aleksandar Katai doubled the lead just before the half hour mark. Michael de Leeuw made it 3-0 in the 56th minute and Nikolic added his second 20 minutes from full time.

“There are individuals that I think are trying,” James O’Connor said. “I think there are other individuals that maybe believe that they’re trying, but I think overall, when you look at the commitment today, I think it leaves you with a lot of questions asking around the level of commitment, the level of motivation and the character of individuals.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Sacha Kljestan, F - Dom Dwyer
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: GK - Mason Stajduhar (Localized Ewing Sarcoma), D - Chris Schuler (groin injury); QUESTIONABLE: D - Lamine Sane (quad injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Joe Bendik — Scott Sutter, Shane O’Neill, Jonathan Spector, Carlos Ascues — Uri Rosell, Yoshi Yotun — Josue Colman, Sacha Kljestan, Mohamed El-Munir — Dom Dwyer

Houston Dynamo

The Dynamo (8-13-7) gave Wilmer Cabrera a perfect birthday present, beating the Portland Timbers, 4-1, Saturday night at BBVA Compass Stadium.

After falling behind on an Alejandro Fuenmayor own goal in the 9th minute, Alberth Elis leveled in the 32nd minute and then set up Mauro Manotas for the first of consecutive goals seven minutes later. Manotas got his brace in the 71st minute and Fuenmayor struck 10 minutes later.

“The best gift to see, not just winning, but to see your players going on the field and giving 100 percent — that’s the best gift that we can have,” Cabrera said. “And that’s something that I’m proud of. We’ve been going through a lot of difficulties, no doubt about it, but this team, I believe in this team. I believe in the players. And today they showed that they believe in themselves.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Boniek Garcia, M - Adam Lundqvist, M - Darwin Ceren
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - A.J. DeLaGarza (torn left ACL), F - Mac Steeves

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Joe Willis — Andrew Wenger, Jared Watts, Alejandro Fuenmayor, DaMarcus Beasley — Tomas Martinez, Eric Alexander, Boniek Garcia — Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas, Romell Quioto

All-Time Series

Overall: Orlando City SC 1 win, 1 goal … Houston Dynamo 1 win, 4 goals … 1 draw
At Orlando: Orlando City SC 0 wins, 0 goals … Dynamo 0 wins, 0 goals … 1 draw
Last meeting at Orlando: Orlando City SC 0, Houston Dynamo 0 (July 8, 2016)