Ah, MLS, you lovely beast, you. Once again, we've got a match scheduled for an international break, leaving us a bit bare in the personnel cabinet and forcing some interesting workarounds to cope with player injury. At least, I hope there are workarounds — we can't play injured players, can we? And we certainly can't merely go without.
But the injuries and absences are all combining for something terribly interesting: Our left back slot is woefully lacking. Chris Wingert is out with yellow card accumulation, Kenny Mansally is recovering from injury, Will Johnson is off with the Canadians and Chris Schuler is inching closer to a return. Those are our four general left back solutions, and there is a chance none of them could be available to start.
Let it first be said that Houston Dynamo are perhaps the best passing and possession side in the league — or at least the best at that particular cross-section of play. I'm not saying they're the best side, or that they're the best side who happens to play a passing and possession style. Indeed, when the Dynamo win, they average 57.5 percent of possession. When we win, we average 53 percent possession. When worlds collide, you know?
Let it also be said that we need to continue our improvement in form, and the timing is quite in our favor if we do so. The nature of playoffs often mean that the sides with the best form heading in are the ones that perform the best in the run-up — obviously enough, right? But it's a tricky matter, and anything we can do to navigate that — especially performing well ("a habit of winning," as sometimes said) in the last few weeks of the season, which, sadly, are coming up quickly.
All that aside, tonight's what we need to concern ourselves with, and concern ourselves we shall. Let's run through a potential lineup.
In goal, Nick Rimando. This is made possible by a delayed exit to the national team, which likely occurred because, let's face it, he's not going to play unless Tim Howard falls to injury. He's certainly good enough to play, but I suppose I can't have any complaints about the dominant Tim Howard in there. Still, I'm a bit frustrated that he's constantly called up just to be a backup.
Our central pairing is likely to continue, especially as it's proved effective: Watson-Siriboe, the ever-quick adapter, and Nat Borchers, the second-in-command, have worked well together. Kwame is young and eager to learn, and Nat (not old!) is wise and eager to teach. It's a good pairing, and even though the younger defender has made some mistakes, he's looked a revelation (and a steal, to be sure.)
Our fully fit full backs consist, right now, of Tony Beltran. That's all. That's it. We might also get Kenny Mansally and Chris Schuler back in there, with the latter more likely to play, I suspect. So let's go with that. Beltran and Schuler, right and left. Works for me, I suppose.
The midfield's a bit better off: Yordany Alvarez will be present in Kyle's spot, while Jonny Steele and Ned Grabavoy should take up the next swathe of midfield, although Luis Gil and Sebastian Velasquez may have arguments for their respective inclusions. Javier Morales, master playmaker, should start, too. That's nice.
Up front, we're without Saborio, but Fabian Espindola should be ready for a runout, and we do have a few partners for him. I suspect we'd be more likely to see Justin Braun than see a Paulo-Espindola pairing, but form is a tricky thing, and Jason likes to ride that as long as he can. Let's say Paulo-Espindola, but I'm a bit reserved about this one.
Right, enough talk. Let's get to it.
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