Houston Dynamo-New England Revolution: Tailgate Time

Chances are that many of you have pre-gamed before a match and were stuck in that awkward situation where you were with people who clearly know more about a team than you. Don’t worry, your friends at MLS Multiplex are here to provide you with all of the information that you need to know before the match. In the words of Thomas Hobbes “Knowledge is Power.”

Timing is everything. Whether it is placing your shot correctly or playing a team when they are down, football is often a game taking advantage of your opportunities given. With second-place in the Eastern Conference on the line, the New England Revolution (15-13-4, 49 points) will look to exploit a eliminated and now coachless Houston Dynamo (11-15-6, 39 points) side on Thursday night.

When: 8pm

Where: BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas

TV: ESPN2

Head-to-Head in 2014: Despite these two sides being in the same conference, they have not met up in over 6 months.

Nonetheless, in the first match of the season Houston put four goals past a shocked New England defense to give them their first win of the season. In that match, midfielder Brad Davis was able to find forward Will Bruin for two goals. This particular combination has been the bread and butter for Houston for years.

New England fared much better in their second match, hitting two goals late in the match to give them the 2-0 victory over the Dynamo. A wonder goal by defender Kevin Alston gave the Revs the advantage, while a late PK by the now-departed Jerry Bengston sealed their victory.

Outlook: Now normally at this point we would take the previous results and look at what those teams were doing to figure out what they will do on Thursday night. But with Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear making the announcement that he will be leaving at the end of the season, that gets thrown out the window.

One of the things that no could take away from the Houston Dynamo is that they always played the game hard. Even if the team was outmatched and even if they played a less-than stellar style, they always gave it their all.

But one has to wonder if the players will have it in them on Thursday night to play in a game that is meaningless. Houston was eliminated from playoff contention last Sunday, capping off what has been a rather disappointing 2014 season. This will be just the second time in the franchises history that they will be missing out on the playoffs (2010 was the last time).

Given that this will be Kinnear’s last home match at BBVA and what he has accomplished there (2 MLS Cups, and four appearances in the final) hopefully the players will come out looking to win. Houston has looked much better in recent weeks, gaining points in seven of their last ten matches (5-3-2).

While Houston may be counting down the days to the end of the season, the New England Revolution are just heating up. Currently sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, the Revolution will look to solidify their lead over Sporting Kansas City (14-11-7, 49 points) and hope that D.C. United (16-9-7, 55 points) might slip up to give them a shot at first place in the Eastern Conference.

In previous matches between these two squads, Houston has used their expert passing ability in the midfield to control the frenetic pace of New England. But this is a different Revolution squad, with the combination of midfielder Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones holding on to the ball for more extended periods and making less reckless moves.

The key to this match will be if Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark can clog the middle of the pitch and force Nguyen to go outside. The Revolution have an advantage in speed, but the Houston midfield combination of Clark and Brad Davis can slow down speedy attackers by simply making them over-think.

Houston Dynamo will also likely be without midfielder Oscar Bonniek Garcia, who played 70 minutes against the United States for Honduras.

If New England can break through the midfield, they should have ample opportunities at goal. Houston have been decimated by injuries, losing goalkeeper Tally Hall, and only recently getting back defenders David Horst, Da Marcus Beasley, Eric Brunner, and Corey Ashe. Their defending at home has not been too bad (plus 3 home goal differential,) but considering how dominant they have been in recent years it certainly is a step down.

Forward Charlie Davies (3 goals) seems to finally have found his form after having lost it so many years during that terrible car accident. Nguyen is still this team’s talisman (14 goals) but the combination of Davies, Teal Bunbury (4 goals,) and Patrick Mullins (4 goals) have been effective.

On the other side of the pitch, the Revolution need to watch out for Houston on set pieces and penalties. As evidenced by last week’s goal against D.C. United, this club can take advantage of a club when they are napping. Watch out for forward Giles Barnes on in-swingers from Davis.

Although New England have turned around their season and should be a prime candidate to win the MLS Cup, this feels like a trap game. Given all that Kinnear has done for this team it would seem foolish to expect the Houston Dynamo to give up on him on their last home game. Despite their injuries and lack of offensive production, the Dynamo should be able to will together one last gutsy result.

Interesting Stat to Keep An Eye On: The Houston Dynamo are undefeated this season when forward Will Bruin scores a goal (8-0-2). Bruin, who returned to the squad last week and played twelve minutes, has ten goals this season for the Dynamo. Although Barnes has had a quality season, Bruin is the team’s best attacking option.

Prediction: Houston Dynamo 1- New England Revolution 1