Sunday, June 29

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Sports Mole previews Sunday's MLS clash between Houston Dynamo and St Louis City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Houston Dynamo and St Louis City, both aiming to end winless runs, are set to clash on Sunday in Major League Soccer. 

The hosts are 11th in the Western Conference table with 20 points from 19 games, while the visitors are 14th in the standings with 15 points from 19 fixtures.

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Match preview

Houston Dynamo, after a five-year absence from the MLS Cup playoffs between 2018 and 2022, enjoyed two positive campaigns in 2023 and 2024, qualifying for the playoffs in each with ninth and eight-placed finishes. 

Ben Olsen, in charge since November 2022, would have been aiming for another similar campaign this year, but Houston have struggled just over halfway into this season. 

Houston Dynamo are 22nd in the MLS table and 11th in the Western Conference standings with 20 points from their 19 games, leaving them five points adrift of the MLS playoff places. 

They have particularly struggled in recent weeks, suffering three consecutive 3-1 defeat heading into this clash, leaving them in desperate need of a streak breaking result. 

Their opponents, St Louis City, are similarly facing difficulties this campaign, as they sit 27th in the MLS table and 14th in the Western Conference with just 15 points from 19 games, leaving them a significant 10 points outside the playoff positions. 

St Louis City's underwhelming start to the season resulted in the recent dismissal of Olof Mellberg, who joined at the beginning of the year, with David Critchley taking charge on an interim basis. 

Critchley has led the team to one win, one draw and two losses in his four games in charge, but St Louis City are without a win for three games heading into this one. 

Aiming to end that streak, St Louis City will look to take confidence from their strong record in this fixture, managing three wins, two draws and only one defeat against Houston Dynamo, including a 3-0 win in their last meeting.

Houston Dynamo form (MLS):

St Louis City form (MLS):

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Team News

Houston Dynamo are expected to be without the services of Andrew Tarbell (cruciate ligament) and Nelson Quinones (knee) due to injury issues.

Ezequiel Ponce is Houston Dynamo's top scorer with four goals in MLS, and the striker is likely to lead the line once again for the team on Sunday. 

As for St Louis City, Christopher Durkin (knee), Eduard Lowen (hamstring), Henry Kessler (hamstring), Joakim Nilsson (knee), Rasmus Alm (hip) and Tomas Ostrak (muscle) are all unlikely to feature due to injury. 

Joao Klauss has scored six goals in 14 MLS starts for St Louis City, including five in his last four appearances, and the forward should start alongside Simon Becher and Celio Pompeu in attack.

Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:

Bond; Dorsey, Sviatchenko, Ortiz, Escobar; Raines, Artur; Lingr, Lodeiro, Kowalczyk; Ponce

St Louis City possible starting lineup:

Burki; Totland, Hiebert, Baumgartl, Reid; Watts, Hartel; Becher, Teuchert, Pompeu; Klauss

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We say: Houston Dynamo 1-2 St Louis City

 

Houston Dynamo and St Louis City have endured challenging seasons thus far, but with St Louis City boasting a far stronger record in this fixture, we believe the away team will win this one.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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