Vancouver Whitecaps (13-8-6) travel to face off against Houston Dynamo (12-8-8) on Wednesday, September 18th. This match will be played at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, TX. Both club’s come into this one having won their previous match. The match starts at 8:30 PM ET.

Vancouver Whitecaps vs Houston Dynamo

Vancouver Whitecaps Is Coming Off A Win

The Vancouver Whitecaps will be looking to build off their last performance, which came against the San Jose Earthquakes. In that match, they picked up a 2-0 win on their home pitch. The money line payout for the Whitecaps was -235, and the two combined goals fell short of the pre-match over/under line of 3.5 goals.

On offense, Fafà Picault and Stuart Armstrong were the two players to find the net, with each of these offensive standouts taking three shots. Ryan Gauld had both of the assists for the club, and overall, the club had 11 shots on goal and 19 shots.

Defensively, the Whitecaps had a clean sheet, and this comes as no surprise given that Yōhei Takaoka didn’t allow a goal on his two saves. As a unit, the defense blocked four shots and intercepted four passes.

The Vancouver Whitecaps head into this match against the Houston Dynamo sitting in 6th place in the Western Conference, just one point behind the Seattle Sounders. They have been playing well of late, going 2-0-1 over their last three matches. Overall, they have a record of 13-8-6, and they have been favored in 14 of their 27 matches. On the road, they have been solid, going 7-4-3. After this match, they will head out on the road again, taking on the Los Angeles Galaxy on September 22nd.

Houston Dynamo Is Coming Off A Win

The Houston Dynamo will be looking to build off their 4-1 win over Real Salt Lake. This match took place on their home pitch, and they had a money line payout of -134. The five combined goals surpassed the over/under line of 2.5 goals.

On offense, the Dynamo were led by an attack that saw five different players score a goal. Ezequiel Ponce took a total of four shots and scored on his only shot on goal. Amine Bassi and Sebastian Kowalczyk were the other two players to score without taking more than two shots.

Steve Clark had a solid game between the sticks for the club, making a total of six saves on Real Salt Lake’s six shots on goal. The club’s defensive unit also blocked six shots and intercepted 10 passes.

In their last four matches, the Houston Dynamo have gone 2-1-1, including a win over the 2nd-ranked Los Angeles FC. Overall, they sit just one point behind the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Western Conference standings. At home, the Dynamo have struggled to turn draws into wins, going just 5-3-6. Following this match, they will head on the road to take on Austin FC.

Vancouver Whitecaps Offense Breakdown

The Vancouver Whitecaps have been an average offensive team this season, ranking 10th in MLS with 1.7 goals per match. Brian White has been their top scorer, finding the back of the net 12 times, which is 17th in the league. He also leads the team in shots on goal, ranking 39th in MLS. Ryan Gauld has been their top playmaker, ranking 5th in MLS with 11 assists. He has also scored 9 goals, which is 34th in the league.

Houston Dynamo Offense Breakdown

The Houston Dynamo’s offense has been led by Aliyu Ibrahim, who is 57th in MLS with six goals scored. He also leads the team in shots on goal, which is 25th in the league. Amine Bassi is the team’s leader in assists, ranking 32nd in MLS. His three goals are fourth on the team. Overall, Houston is 19th in the league in goals scored and 11th in shots on goal. They have had fewer corner kicks than their opponents in 46.4% of their matches.

Vancouver Whitecaps Defense Breakdown

Heading into their match against the Houston Dynamo, the Vancouver Whitecaps are coming off a shutout win over the San Jose Earthquakes, which was their third shutout in their last five matches. Overall, they are 7th in the MLS in goals allowed at 1.3 per match. However, they are just 23rd in blocked shots and 16th in interceptions. Yōhei Takaoka is 10th in the MLS with seven clean sheets this season.

Houston Dynamo Defense Breakdown

Heading into their match against the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Houston Dynamo defense is coming off back-to-back shutouts. This includes a match against the 7th-ranked offense in MLS, Los Angeles FC. On the season, they are 4th in goals allowed per match (1.1) and 5th in blocked shots. However, they are 29th in interceptions and 23rd in fouls. Steve Clark is 5th in clean sheets (7) and 14th in saves (76).

Vancouver Whitecaps vs Houston Dynamo Prediction

Looking at how we expect this match to play out, we are going to take the Vancouver Whitecaps and Houston Dynamo to finish in a 1-1 draw. Even though the Dynamo are the better defensive team, Vancouver has been better at generating shots this season and they are also facing a Houston club that struggles to shoot the ball. Our projections are giving Ezequiel Ponce the best chance to score a goal for Houston, while Fafà Picault is being given the top odds to score for the Whitecaps.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.