Well, well, well. The Brokeback State is sending their footy best to compete up in the Great Northwest not once but twice in July. It'll be fun to see our boys lay a smackdown on the Houston Windshield Cowboys twice in the next two weeks. Houston sits atop the MLS ranking right now (see table at right). They are also at the top of the MLS Power Rankings. Houston has a powerhouse defense which has only given up 10 goals so far this season and the team has a league-leading goal differential of +11. Pretty impressive stuff...but Seattle should win this one easily.
Houston short-staffed.
Houston is going to be without Bobby Boswell and Geoff Cameron on defense. They are out because of caution accumulations (both players have started every game so far this year). Andrew Hainault, another important defender, is gone playing Gold Cup for Canada as is Julius James playing for Trinidad. That leaves them with Richard Mulrooney (age 34) and some non-starters on D. Brian Ching, the top Houston Forward, is playing for the national team at the Gold Cup. So is the second top Houston scorer, Stuart Holden. So who can score? Kei Kamara is the most likely suspect (see attached video; wicked cross by Chabala to Kamara). But the reality is that this is not the Houston that is leading the Table, it is a short-staffed team with a very weak defense and little firepower up-front.
The Sounders, for their part, are without Brad Evans (Gold Cup). Other than that they are full up. Ljungberg is carrying 4 yellow cards, so he might see limited action. He needs three clean games or he'll be suspended for a match.
Betting
The betters are definitely laying down for the Sounders in this one. Almost half the money is on the Sounders, with the rest being split between a tie and the Dynamo.
