Houston Dynamo v New England Revolution: Porter urges visitors to show fighting spirit

Caleb Porter says New England Revolution need to show they are fighters against Houston Dynamo as they look to build on their latest win.

The Revs beat Nashville SC 1-0 at the weekend to move off the foot of the Eastern Conference, snapping a five-match winless streak in the process.

They are just six points off a playoff spot with four games left to play, and Porter is hoping for more of the same mentality to come away with three points.

“We talked a lot last week about just having a better mentality, not being quite as emotional, and just being more steady and having ice in our veins a little bit more,” Porter said, as quoted in the Blazing Musket substack.

“We are going to have to, at times, absorb. [Houston] are one of the best possession teams in the league.

“We are going to have to keep the game tight. From here on out, we have to be tough to play against. We are going to keep showing we are fighters, and we are going to be organized.”

Monday training pic.twitter.com/OstvDP4atJ

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) September 30, 2024

Meanwhile, Houston clinched their playoff spot at the weekend, despite a 1-0 defeat to Seattle Sounders due to FC Dallas’ loss, as they sit sixth in the Western Conference.

It is the second year running they are in the postseason, and head coach Ben Olsen is hopeful they can use that as motivation to get back to winning ways.

“We are excited about being in the postseason and that’s a big deal,” Olsen said.

“These guys have worked really hard all year to get us into this position. We have a tough team in town in New England, so we have to focus on that as we turn the page on a disappointing result in Seattle.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Griffin Dorsey

The Dynamo held 62.4% possession against the Sounders on Saturday, the 14th time Houston held at least 60% of the ball in 2024, the third-most games on record in an MLS season since Opta began detailed data collection of MLS in 2010.

Griffin Dorsey finished the game with a 100% pass completion rate in that defeat, not misplacing any of his 41 passes in the 80 minutes he was on the pitch.

New England Revolution – Aljaz Ivacic

After conceding multiple goals in each of their previous five league matches, New England secured a 1-0 win over Nashville on Saturday.

The Revolution have not kept consecutive regular-season clean sheets since the opening two matches of the 2023 season, with the second of those coming against Houston, and Aljaz Ivacic will be keen to get another shutout.

Houston held it down all the way to the Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs! pic.twitter.com/KVmuI20vGv

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 29, 2024

MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

New England have won seven of their last nine matches against Houston (D1 L1) dating back to the beginning of the 2014 season. However, the Dynamo’s only win in that time came in the last meeting between the sides in Houston, a 3-1 victory in September 2022.

Houston’s five-match unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday with a 1-0 loss at Seattle. The Dynamo have not lost consecutive matches in all competitions since losses to Austin FC and FC Dallas in late April.

Meanwhile, New England have lost 13 of their last 17 MLS away matches (incl. playoffs) dating back to the start of October 2023. The Revs have lost their last three on the road, being outscored 9-0 in those games.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 61.1%

Draw – 20.5%

New England Revolution – 18.4%