Houston are having problems on the road and their next match in Atlanta. It might be telling.
Here’s what sounds like the opening line of a joke for you as we look toward the weekend.
Two teams walk into Bobby Dodd Stadium…
One team, finally, returns back from some place other than the road…
And the other side had a mid-week match on the road that didn’t go well, which isn’t anything surprising for anyone that has seen the Houston Dynamo play on the road for the last few seasons. Evidence below,
Here’s a Houston stat for you:
The Dynamo, in their lifetime, are 38-86-57 away from home and have a goal difference of minus 89. Compare that to their homesteads and it’s a marked difference in production: 98-35-52 and a goal difference of plus 113.
It’s for unknown reason, but the orange and black have a devil of a time getting out of bed and getting out of the blocks when they’re on the road. Those stats are quite telling.
Atlanta United is, certainly, hoping that trend continues, especially on short rest after a Wednesday mid-week, shut out loss. And it’s fairly safe to assume that the tape is out and all over the place on how the Union clamped down on the high-powered offense Houston possesses.
The woes on the road seem to be more than just physical. It is, probably somewhere in there, a “mental” element now that the Dynamo have to get past.
Against Philly, Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera put a 4-2-3-1 out with Erick Torres up top and Quioto, Alex, and Mauro Manotas in behind. Alberth Elis wasn’t even in the 18 that made the trip. How healthy is he and that hamstring?
Here’s another Houston stat for you:
The Dynamo out shot the Union 15-9 and had 58-percent of the possession. They’re 0-2-1 this season when they have more possession (I guess actually that’s two stats…).
For a team that likes to counterattack and get goals off set pieces, that’s a largely slower pace than they’d like to have.
Which brings us to Atlanta United.
They were more than happy in Portland to have 70-percent of the possession against the Timbers. Because this happened in that 90 minutes at Providence Park,
If you want to call that a “one-point win,” feel free if you’re an Atlanta United fan.
A lot of weirdness happened on both sides.
This wasn’t the side that fans were used to see with everyone on offense going straight down the field and trying to make only a few passes to create goal opportunities. It was possess, frustrate, and make your chances.
Which plays against what Houston wants to do.
Picture Atlanta United against Portland and what Philadelphia did mid-week, and odds are, that’s what Saturday night will be for the Dynamo in attack.
What we think we know…
Josef Martinez was listed as “closer” by Atlanta United head coach Tata Martino to getting back in the Starting XI. Greg Garza is regarded as “possible.” If Garza’s “possible” doesn’t turn into a “definite” by Saturday night, look for Mark Bloom to get the start again and for Mikey Ambrose to spell him in the 65th minute or so. The rest of the Starting XI shouldn’t change much otherwise. Considering the success of Julian Gressel out wide and Tito Villalba up top, it shouldn’t change.
Jacob Peterson is still out for Atlanta as well. George Malki and Eric Alexander are out for Houston.
There’s also the possibility of both Chris Goslin and Andrew Carleton being available as well, depending on how Martino wants to address the speed of Houston.
So, with everyone seeing speed versus speed on both of these sides, look for another tight two-goal match on the scoreboard. It won’t get out of control and, if it does, it means Houston forced Atlanta out of their initial thought pattern.
How To Watch and Listen
TV
- FOX Sports Southeast
- FOX Sports Go
Radio
- 92.9 The Game (English)
- La Mejor Atlanta (Spanish)
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Hanson, Nick Uranga
Fourth Official: Ricardo Salazar
Fans, what say you ahead of this match-up?
Let us know by checking in down in the Comments Section below…