Will we see a season debut for Osvaldo Alonso this weekend?

The View from Houston – Coyle not worried about turf, Barnes not worried about offense ahead of Dynamo’s Sounders test

By Steven Agen

When the Seattle Sounders host the Houston Dynamo this Saturday, the two sides will meet as Western Conference rivals for the first time in nearly five years. Various expansions have bounced the Dynamo between conferences, and now they once again compete in the same region as Seattle. With heated matches in 2009 culminating with Houston knocking Seattle out of their inaugural playoffs, the match-up showed the potential to spark into a heated rivalry for some time. Seattle has only featured in MLS for two years when Houston switched, and any budding animosity was put on the backburner. That changes, here in 2015, as the clubs will meet 3 times this season.

It won’t be an easy trip for the visitors. They make the trek north coming off of a disappointing 0-0 draw at home against Colorado. The Rapids are, to put it delicately, abysmal so Owen Coyle certainly had hoped to see his men take all three points in a favorable matchup. They couldn’t, but, at the same time, extended an excellent start to the season on the defensive side of things. The Texans have conceded just twice in four matches, and one of those came on an own goal from goalkeeper Tyler Deric. It was a fluky mistake from Deric, who has otherwise been a revelation for the Dynamo this season. That leaves one goal conceded from the run of play, and it came at the StubHub Center against LA. That’s not exactly a “soft” goal either, when you’re playing at the defending champions.

Concerns for the Dynamo this weekend begin and end with their attack. The defense, despite playing exceptionally well so far, is going to have to deal with one of the more dynamic attacks in the league, and Houston will need to score goals and hold possession to keep pace. Most of that burden is falling on Giles Barnes and Will Bruin right now as the club eagerly anticipates the arrival of Cubo Torres. Brad Davis, for all his passing acumen in the midfield, can’t make his forwards score off of his service, and it’s resulted in a lethargic offense that’s only put away two goals in four games.

Boniek Garcia and Luis Garrido will be available for the match after playing for Honduras in a Gold Cup playoff, bolstering their midfield presence. Ricardo Clark and DeMarcus Beasley are listed as probably, leaving the Dynamo with their preferred eleven available for the match.

Houston will attempt to keep possession and pressure high up the field, as they saw the San Jose Earthquakes successfully do at CenturyLink Field several weeks ago. It’ll take a herculean effort to stop a revitalized Seattle attack.

It’s a good week for the Sounders as Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins, Chad Marshall, and Osvaldo Alonso are all listed as probable while Marco Pappa has returned from his time with Guatemala. The Cascadians played to an ugly 0-0 draw in Frisco against Dallas last weekend in a match that featured none of the five. It meant starts for Cristian Roldan, Zach Scott, Andy Rose, and Chad Barrett on the day. Seattle’s attacking impetus should look a lot better this time around. Playing up a man for most of the match, the Sounders lacked the quality in the final third to punish Kellyn Acosta for his rash challenge. With Dempsey, Martins and Pappa back there will be no shortage of quality this weekend.

The most important of the returning players, though, is likely Osvaldo Alonso. Coming off of groin surgery this offseason, expect him to get his first minutes of the year. Be it in a starting role or substitute capacity, the tenacious Cuban provides a depth to the Seattle midfield that Michael Azira can’t. The Sounders must be careful not to rush him back too quickly, but everyone in rave green will be giddy at the sight of his season debut.

The match comes down to whether or not the returning Sounders can find their form immediately. If there’s a rust from injuries and time away, Houston may be able to manage the match and secure a smash and grab result. If Seattle is firing on all cylinders, it will be a long evening for an anemic Houston attack that won’t see a lot of the ball. Should they stick with the 4-2-3-1 they ran against the Rapids, the back six will be hard pressed to keep out Seattle’s stars.

It’s the renewal of a rivalry that never quite took off like it deserved to. Can Seattle make it 6 straight league home matches against Houston without a loss, or will Owen Coyle’s men take a surprise result against a rusty and still-healing Sounders eleven?

PREDICTION

Seattle 1, Houston 0

Martins (Dempsey) 59’