MLS betting tips: Stingy Houston Dynamo to stop goal-shy Minnesota United
- George Dempsey
- 12 July 2023
Houston Dynamo’s watertight defence should help them to victory against Minnesota United in their midweek MLS fixture.
Houston have been a good bet at home this season and we're backing their defence to get the job done against Minnesota United.
MLS betting tip
Houston Dynamo vs Minnesota United preview
Houston Dynamo have the joint third-best goal difference of any home side in Major League Soccer, while Minnesota are conceding nearly two goals per game on their travels.
The Texan side have allowed just five goals in their 10 home matches so if they're on top of their game, it's hard to imagine Minnesota pulling off an upset.
Since starting the season with three straight wins on the road we haven't seen much from Minnesota. They were able to beat a poor Timbers side 1-0 and became the latest in a long list of sides to leave Salt Lake with at least a point.
They've faced a tough fixture list but it doesn't get much tougher than facing Houston on the road at this time of year.
If you're willing to overlook Houston's 1-0 loss at home to Seattle, in which they finished the game with nine men and picked up their first red card 20 minutes in, they've gone unbeaten.
Despite playing 58 minutes with 10 men and a further 12 minutes with nine men, they still came within seconds of claiming a 0-0 draw.
This is an extremely well-drilled side that is so hard to break down and they tend to get stronger as the game games on, scoring 10 of their 19 home goals in the final 20 minutes.
Sporting KC provided a real test of their credentials on the weekend Ivan Franco's 90th-minute goal keep the hosts' solid home record intact.
United's issue is that they tend to concede goals in bunching. They've allowed two or more in six of their last eight home matches and they can't keep doing that and expect to win games.
They especially cannot do that against Houston. The Loons have conceded 14 goals in their last six road matches and 15 in their last seven overall.
While we really expected better from them on the weekend, Austin were able to expose their defensive frailties, including the absence of Kemar Lawrence and Dayne St Clair.
Their injury list could be a little bit longer come midweek, most notably with Sang Bin Jeong being questionable. That hampers their attack and so we're expecting a routine home win.
