The Seattle Sounders visit the Houston Dynamo on Saturday (5:00 p.m. PT; JOEtv, YouTube TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM) in Week 21 MLS action. Here are three matchups to watch, presented by Toyota.
Brad Smith vs. Alberth Elis
Houston’s Elis is a bit of an enigma. Some games he is absolutely dominant, blazing past defenders and creating chances at a clip that would put him amongst the best attackers in the league. Other days, he’s largely anonymous, drifting in and out of games as his team struggles to generate any danger.
The last time Smith faced off against Elis, a 1-0 win for the Sounders at CenturyLink Field on May 11, he kept the Honduran winger in his back pocket all evening. Relying largely on their ability to exploit space down the wings in transition, the Dynamo didn’t have any answers for Smith’s pace in the open field. Moreover, the Australian left back registered four key passes in the home win, as Houston tends to leave their wingers high and wide to hit on the counter. If they employ a similar strategy on Saturday, look for Smith to bomb forward and create 2-v-1 overloads down the left flank.
Cristian Roldan vs. Matías Vera
Vera has added structure to a Houston midfield that at times was a bit amorphous on both sides of the ball. A no-nonsense defensive midfielder, he covers lots of ground and tallies tons of recoveries simply through his intelligent positioning.
Enter Roldan, whose limitless motor and soccer IQ make him a nightmare for opposing No. 6’s. The last time the Sounders midfielder lined up against the Dynamo, he sealed three points for the team with an audacious, long-range volley in the fifth minute. In the team’s 2-1 loss to the Timbers, Roldan put in a box-to-box midfield masterclass, completing 93.5 percent of his 62 pass attempts while also registering three tackles, three interceptions and winning a team-high 13 duels.
Playing against a mercurial Houston team that has lost just once at home all season, Roldan will need to win control of the midfield from Vera if the Sounders hope to get three points.
Stefan Frei vs. Mauro Manotas
After starting out the season in top form, tallying six goals and four assists through the first ten games, Manotas has cooled off considerably, with just two goals and one assist in his last ten outings. However, the 24-year-old Colombian appears to have turned a corner, as he posted a goal and an assist in the Dynamo’s 3-1 road win over Toronto FC.
Last season, Seattle picked up its first-ever win at BBVA Compass Stadium, holding on for a 3-2 win on the road. If not for a series of heroic saves from Frei, the team very well could have dropped points. With Manotas rounding into form, the Sounders goalkeeper will need to reproduce his performance from last season’s road fixture in order for the team to snag three points.
