Houston must 'make our own luck in the final third', says Olsen

Ben Olsen believes his Houston Dynamo side need to "make our own luck in the final third" to end their scoring woes.

The Dynamo have scored just once in their last three MLS games, following up a 2-1 defeat to St. Louis City with goalless draws against the San Jose Earthquakes and Charlotte FC.

Last time out against 10-man Charlotte, Houston recorded 18 shots, five of which were on target, without scoring.

The Dynamo's recent results have seen them drop to second in the Western Conference, three points behind the Vancouver Whitecaps, who also have a game in hand.

Olsen praised his side's defensive attributes ahead of their upcoming MLS clash with Real Salt Lake, while urging them to improve in attack.

"Thrilled with that part," said Olsen when asked about Houston's 11th clean sheet of the season.

"The defensive side of our game is still a strong point. That's to state the obvious of this group.

"What we need to continue to work on is obvious – seeing out the game in the final third and being more threatening and scoring more goals.

"It's nice to be good at one of the two aspects of the game, so we'll just keep working and plugging away at making our own luck in the final."

Real Salt Lake, meanwhile, are 10th in the West but just one point outside the playoff places.

They drew 2-2 with Los Angeles FC at the weekend; RSL have not won in MLS play since May.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Jonathan Bond

Houston have kept clean sheets in seven of their last eight regular-season matches, becoming the first team to enjoy such a run within a single season since New York City FC in 2022.

Goalkeeper Bond made three saves against Charlotte to preserve his clean sheet at Bank of America Stadium.

Real Salt Lake – Saba Lobjanidze

Lobjanidze scored his first regular-season goal for Real Salt Lake in their 2-2 draw with LAFC.

It was Lobjanidze’s fourth goal contribution since joining RSL during the World Cup break, tied with Diego Luna for the most goal contributions by any RSL player in that time.

MATCH PREDICTION – HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

Houston are unbeaten in seven straight regular-season home matches (W5 D2), conceding just once in that time.

The Dynamo are the first team since CF Montreal in 2023 to allow one goal in a span of seven home matches, while it is the second time Houston have achieved the feat (also May to August 2016).

RSL's regular-season winless run extended to nine games (D4 L5) with their draw to LAFC. RSL’s last double-digit winless run within a single regular season was an 11-game streak to open the 2007 campaign.

However, RSL have won three straight meetings with Houston, including a 3-0 home victory on May 13. The only longer winning run by either team in the 47 all-time meetings across all competitions was a five-match streak by RSL from 2013 to 2016.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 55.5%

Draw – 22.2%

Real Salt Lake – 22.3%