Pick the Houston Dynamo Lineup against the Seattle Sounders

The Houston Dynamo have quickly undergone a needed facelift this offseason after finishing last in the Western Conference last season. They’ve added a new Head Coach in Wilmer Cabrera and added 13 new players in order to compete in the West this season. Their competition tomorrow is against a club that had the opposite kind of season the Dynamo had in that they won the MLS Cup. The Dynamo have a chance to ride their momentum following their dominance in the Desert Diamond Cup, a preseason tournament, and take on the reigning champions of MLS. A win over Seattle, who has yet to win at BBVA, would do wonders for the confidence of this squad.

Head Coach Cabrera has been fairly consistent with who he wants to see starting this preseason. The backline should partner newcomers Adolfo Machado with Leonardo in central defense which should make for a physically dominating duo. Up top the attacking trio of Romell Quioto, Erick “Cubo” Torres, and Alberth Elis will provide the firepower for the Dynamo which will create a lightning quick offense. For many we would rather see Mauro Manotas in a starting role given that he was one of the few bright spots from last season, but Cabrera appears to be sticking with Cubo at the moment. To be fair to Cubo, he’s playing extremely well this preseason so I think he’s earned it.

The midfield is where I think we’ll see the most changes this season, but for now Cabrera prefers essentially 3 central midfielders playing together in his preferred 4-3-3 system. It looks like Ricardo Clark and Alex Lima will play next to (although slightly above) Juan David Cabezas who will intimidate players with his hardnosed tackling in the same way that Luis Garrido provided.

My Projected Starting Lineup

It’s difficult to predict the starting XI given how new this team really is, but I think this is what we’ll see based on preseason preferences.

Last season it appeared as if Joe Willis could battle Tyler Deric for the top goalkeeping spot, and the conversation was warranted. Willis provided plenty of amazing saves last season filling in while Deric was injured. However, a preseason injury to Joe Willis has hurt his chances to earn the home opener start. No other Dynamo players are listed on the injury report.

So who do you want to see face the Seattle Sounders? There are lots of new players to choose from and plenty of combinations that could be effective. Let us know and feel free to share your choices in the comments section below!