Houston Dynamo v Minnesota United: Miami win shows visitors can compete with the best, says Ramsay

Minnesota United's 4-1 thrashing of Inter Miami showed that the Loons can compete with the very best in the MLS, so says their head coach Eric Ramsay.

Minnesota brushed aside Lionel Messi's Miami with relative ease, earning a statement win early in the season and moving them up to second in the Western Conference.

Ramsay's side have only lost one of their last 11 regular-season matches, though the Minnesota boss did not want his players to get carried away after their latest win.

"I think for the club as a whole that was really important, but certainly, for us as a team, to show that we can compete with the very best was really important for us," Ramsay said.

"We're obviously in a good place at the moment, but we've got to keep that going, we've got to keep working.

"We got to make sure that this feeling doesn't dwell really, and we're straight from tomorrow onto that game on Wednesday night."

For the Houston Dynamo, meanwhile, they come into the contest on the back of a disappointing 3-1 defeat to the Seattle Sounders, a game they finished with 10 men.

Femi Awodesu, who had restored parity for Houston in the first half, was sent off six minutes after his leveller, with the Sounders capitalising in the second half.

Head coach Ben Olsen fumed at the decision to send Awodesu off in the match, but reiterated that his team's poor start ultimately cost them in the game.

"It was a really good first half from us against a good team," Olsen said. "Resiliency to come back and get the goal.  

"But what p****** me off though was that our start was terrible. To not be able to grind a little bit as a group was really disappointing. I don't care if you are a man down. You grind.

"You find a way to get something out of the game or make it really tough, and it was way too easy in the first 10 minutes. They got their two goals, and that was disappointing."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Jack McGlynn

McGlynn was the standout performer for the Dynamo in their defeat to the Sounders, grabbing the assist for Awodesu's goal.

He also ended the contest with a team-high five chances created and joint-most shots (four, level with Griffin Dorsey).

Minnesota United – Julian Gressel

After starting on the bench against Miami last time out, Gressel will be pushing for a start against one of his favoured opponents in the MLS. 

He has scored four goals in seven regular-season matches against Houston in his MLS career, his most against any opponent in regular-season play.

MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

Houston avoided defeat in both meetings with Minnesota last season (W1 D1). The Loons had won seven straight regular-season matches against the Dynamo from 2021 until 2023.

The Dynamo are, however, off to the worst 12-match start to a season in club history with just 10 points (W2 D4 L6). Their minus-eight goal difference is their worst at this stage of a campaign, having never been worse than minus-three before.

Minnesota, meanwhile, are on a five-game road unbeaten streak in league play (W3 D2), most recently with a 3-0 win at Austin FC. That tied for the largest margin of victory in a road MLS match in team history.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 42%

Draw – 26.7%

Minnesota United – 31.3%