Wednesday night’s action in the MLS wraps up with a clash between San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo in an all-Western Conference affair at the Avaya Stadium with both teams looking to strengthen their claims for a play-off spot.
8th placed San Jose Earthquakes are just one league position and 1 point adrift of 7th placed Real Salt Lake prior to their Wednesday night encounter against Houston Dynamo, and the hosts bring a 4-match unbeaten sequence into this fixture.
Recent wins against Chicago Fire and Toronto in 4-1 and 2-1 victories respectively along with points picked up against DC United and Dallas in 1-1 and 2-2 draws have helped maintain San Jose’s quest for a top seven finish in the Western Conference.
Following a poor start to their campaign on home turf at their Avaya Stadium which saw San Jose lose their first 3 home matches of the season, the hosts have bounced back in style as they’ve put together a 5-match unbeaten run.
4 wins out of their last 5 at home against Portland Timbers, Sporting Kansas, Cincinnati and Chicago Fire should give San Jose confidence of taking all three points here.
Houston Dynamo occupy 5th place in the Western Conference but although they already sit in the play-off pack, the visitors have managed to record just 1 win out of their last 6 matches overall in the MLS.
That win came in the shape of a 2-1 home win over DC United, but defeats to Seattle Sounders, Minnesota United and Portland Timbers have resulted in Houston Dynamo losing ground on the league leaders.
Houston now find themselves 13 points adrift of Los Angeles who sit in top spot, so it looks like a top seven finish is the best that Houston can hope for at this stage, but they’ll be mindful of the likes of the chasing pack behind them I daresay.
In addition, a poor away record which includes having lost their last 4 away matches on the trot will also have the visitors on red alert as they look to at least avoid a 5th straight defeat on the road at San Jose on Wednesday night.
Recent losses to LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, Minnesota United and Portland Timbers doesn’t bode well for their trip to San Jose here.