The Rapids are in Houston facing the Dynamo tomorrow. The game is at 6:30 MDT on Fox Soccer Channel. As always the supporters groups are watching the game in downtown Denver at the British Bulldog.
Here's the injury report:
OUT: DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); MF John DiRaimondo (L
ankle); DOUBTFUL: FW Conor Casey (L knee); QUESTIONABLE: MF Nico Colaluca (L groin)
My lineup prediction:
Kimura - Ihemelu - Erpen - Harvey
Cooke Mastroeni - C.Gomez - LaBrocca
McManus - Cummings
According to today's Denver Post article, the Rapids will stick with the two forward formation, and either go with a 35-2 or a 4-4-2. I think Clavijo will start with what worked last week, with the slight change of Peterson for Cooke, for more veteran leadership on the road.
Critical Matchup: Pablo Mastroeni vs. Dwayne DeRosario
Right now Houston has no offense and are hoping to get healthy against a team they normally beat up on, the Rapids. DeRo is the key to the Dynamo attack, and keeping him quiet will go a long way towards keeping the Dynamo offense off the board. Remember, the Rapids have not gotten a point out of a game where they've allowed the opposition to score.
Keys To Look For:
- We;re going on the road to face a team looking to snap out of its funk. Can we keep the pressure on, or like the San Jose game do we get overconfident?
- How does the new backline play? Ihemelu seemed to settle things down last week, does that continue?
- Will somebody step up and claim the role of go-to guy in the box?
- The first goal seems to be even more critical in this game than normal. If Houston gets it they have a lead, at home, over a team they usualy dominate. If we get it Houston might continue in the funk its currently in.
- Who starts on the wings?. I'm guessing Cookie and LaBrocca, but Clark and Peterson have made their cases as well.
- Was Christian Gomez's play last week an aberration because he was facing his old team, or does the 2 forward formation really help him?
Prediction: 2-0 loss. We seem to play poorly against the Dynamo, and its about time for them to finally get the win. I think this has trap game written all over it, and I think, much like Admiral Ackbar and the Rebellion, we fall for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment