Who starts in goal? Pick the Houston XI against Real Salt Lake

The Houston Dynamo were able to get one point out of their last three outings all of which were on the road. The last game, a 0-0 draw on the road to in-state rivals FC Dallas was their first road point of the season, but the squad won’t have much time to rejoice as they return home to BBVA Compass Stadium to play a struggling Real Salt Lake side. Wilmer Cabrera will have to be careful with his lineup selection having just played Dallas this last Sunday and with the Seattle Sounders later this weekend, minutes will need to be monitored to prevent injuries to key players.

Against Dallas Cabrera deployed his usual starting XI with the exception of Romell Quioto who suffered an ankle injury at Atlanta and was unable to make the trip. Without any updates on his injury yet, I would label him questionable to play, but with Seattle coming up this weekend I think he rests until that match to make sure he’s as close to 100% as possible. The only other players that are definitely out for this match are George Malki and Eric Alexander so apart from them it’s about managing minutes.

We’ve seen in the past Cabrera opt for Andrew Wenger to start either at LW or RW and I would anticipate Wenger to get the nod over Alberth Elis who is coming back from a hamstring sprain. Elis could start given his early substitution against Dallas, but I think he comes off the bench vs. RSL. I do think Cabrera keeps the rest of his forwards the same with Mauro Manotas coming in at LW and Cubo Torres at CF, but…and this is pretty big hypothetical, Vicente Sanchez could have earned a spot after the energy he brought off the bench. Should Sanchez start he would be at LW or RW (depending where they would want Wenger). In midfield Alex will start with Juan David Cabezas next to him. The other midfield position that Ricardo Clark typically holds is more in question given his age and the more important game against Seattle ahead. Oscar Boniek Garcia should be the player to get the call in that case. Defensively we may see something close to what we saw against Dallas although Leonardo was forced to come off early due to an injury so if he is rested expect Agus or Jalil Anibaba to start at CB. DaMArcus Beasley could also see rest and if he does Dylan Remick will come in to play LB.

The other big issue is at goalkeeper. Tyler Deric had been given the starting job for the beginning of the year but lost out following an uneven performance at New England. Since then Joe Willis got the start. However, last week Deric was once again in goal and was sensational. My guess for his start was due to the number of goals allowed by Willis during the two other games on the road. I think Deric did enough to get another start.

My Projected Starting Lineup

So who do you want to see lineup against Real Salt Lake? Let us know and feel free to share your choices in the comments section below!