US Open Cup: Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake Preview, Odds, Predictions, Picks

Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake are in the second US Open Cup semifinals, with the game taking place at the Shell Energy Stadium. The hosts are slight favorites over the guests from Utah, but everybody expects to see a highly entertaining and close battle. Though, we’ve seen these two units going against one another in the recent past, and that encounter was pretty dull. The pressure is high, with the title match being at stake. 

Preview

Houston Dynamo (+135) was more than confident against Portland Timbers in the MLS season restart. Dynamo smashed the guests from Oregon 5-0, making a perfect intro for this matchup. 

Previously, we’ve seen them reach the Round of 16 of the Leagues Cup, where Charlotte defeated Ben Olsen’s crew 2-1. They opened the competition with a loss to Orlando City, and after that, had two wins in a row against Santos Laguna and Pachuca. All three events were decided on penalties. 

Houston is very comfortable at home, having only one loss in the past seven appearances in front of own crowd. In six of those events, we’ve seen them netting at least twice. Olsen’s boys trashed LAFC, San Jose, and Portland with 4-0, 4-1, and 5-0, respectively. So you get the picture of how relentless they are at the Shell Energy Stadium. 

Real Salt Lake (+195) was also eliminated in the Leagues Cup round of 16, with LAFC hammering Claret and Cobalt 4-0. Besides this defeat, we’ve seen them losing once more, to Monterrey, 3-0, while beating Seattle Sounders, 3-0, and Club Leon, 1-3. 

RSL’s meetings are usually efficient. Only one in the previous 10 have seen fewer than three goals, and in a vast majority of those meetings, the team from Salt Lake City netted two or more times. To be exact, they did that on seven occasions.

The efficiency is the same on the road, and the venue doesn’t impact Real’s performances. Up until the MLS pause, they were one of the teams in the best form, and we’ll see if the Leagues Cup interrupted that.

Latest News

Teenage Hadebe, Tate Schmitt and Ifunanyachi Achara are injured and are out for the hosts. 

Pablo Ruiz and Zack Farnsworth are on the injury list for RSL.

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Head to Head Games

In early May, Houston welcomed RSL at home. That event saw no winners, with the team failing to score even though both units produced several excellent chances on both ends.

During the previous campaign, Real triumphed at home, 3-0, while the game in Texas also concluded 0-0. In fact, the last three there saw no goals.

Prediction

It is hard to believe that the fourth direct meeting in a row in Houston goes without goals. Furthermore, judging by the recent performances of these two sides, our pick here is both teams to score and over 2.5 hits. Houston is extremely confident at home, while RSL plays offensive-minded football all the time, so a logical expectation here is to see plenty of goals. This pick is priced at +100, and that’s a beautiful gift we are taking right away. 

Pick: Both teams to score +100