There will be plenty on the line when longtime rivals Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo FC square off Saturday in a late-season Western Conference match in Texas.
RSL holds a 14-13-11 edge over Houston in the all-time regular season series. The sides have met twice this year, with RSL winning 3-2 at home on July 3 in MLS play and Houston victorious 3-0 in the Group stage of the Leagues Cup on Aug. 4.
RSL hasn’t won a match in Houston since August 2018.
The Dynamo (11-8-8, 41 points) begin the weekend in seventh place in the West, one point ahead of the Portland Timbers and a point behind the Vancouver Whitecaps in the crowded bottom middle of the conference table with seven matches to play. Four points separate fourth place from eighth in the West.
Houston has earned points in two of its three matches since returning from the Leagues Cup. After losing at home to Toronto FC on Aug. 24, the Dynamo won at Los Angeles FC on Aug. 31 before drawing as the hosts in the rematch last Saturday.
Ibrahim Aliyu leads the Dynamo with six goals, while Amine Bassi paces the side with seven assists. Houston has conceded just 31 goals this season, best in the West and third-fewest in the league.
Even though he’s not among the team’s scoring leaders, midfielder Hector Herrera is the Dynamo’s heart and soul.
“Hector is a huge part of the last year and a half’s growth of this club,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said. “When I say, ‘We go as Hector goes,’ it’s true. We’re at our best when he’s on the field, when he’s touching the ball because of his ability to find relationships on the field.”
RSL (13-6-8, 47 points) is third in the West, one point below LAFC and three clear of the fourth-place Colorado Rapids with seven matches remaining. The Claret and Cobalt is 1-1-0 since returning to MLS play after the Leagues Cup and is just 1-3-1 in its past five regular season matches.
RSL returns from the two-week international break, with its most recent outing a 2-0 home victory over the New England Revolution on Aug. 31. Anderson Julio and Philip Quinton scored for RSL.
“When you have 11 guys working hard for each other on both sides of the ball, their quality shines through,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “These moments are really important for the group, especially down the stretch because every game gets tighter and every team is vying for the same objective of making the playoffs. Words are cheap, but it is the actions behind the words that make it real or not.”
Cristian Arango leads RSL with 17 goals, which is second in MLS behind D.C. United’s Christian Benteke’s 18 tallies. Diego Luna has distributed a team-high 12 assists. Arango is not expected to play Saturday as he battles a hamstring injury.
–Field Level Media