Houston is coming into this match with a slight trend to the under in their recent matches. They have gone under 2.5 goals in 4 of their last 7 matches and they are coming off of a 0-0 draw against Seattle in the 1st match of this series. Their defense was much better in that match, but their attack has still been struggling as they have scored 2 goals in their last 3 matches. They lost the 1st match of this series in penalties after a 0-0 draw so they need to win this match at home, but the onus is going to be on them to score a goal and make something happen as Seattle can just lean on their defense here which has been the best defense in the league all season. They are going up against a Seattle side that has been trending to the under in their recent matches. They have gone under 2.5 goals in their last 3 straight as well as 4 of their last 5 matches, and they have been in great form in these as they have won 3 of their last 5 as well as 4 of their last 7 matches with no losses in that span. Their defense has also been great in these matches as they have only allowed 1 goal in their last 5 straight, but their attack has not been great as they have only scored 2 goals in their last 3 matches as well. Seattle is already up 1-0 in the series and they have the home advantage so they are not going to be pushing to win this match away from home, and with their weaker attack that has not been scoring a lot of goals recently, they are better off leaning on their defense to take them to penalties again as they have a better chance at ending the series there. The onus is going to be on Houston to find the net here at home but they are going to have a hard time breaking down this great Seattle defense. Even when these two meet, they have gone under 2.5 goals in 4 of their last 5 meetings and Houston has failed to score a goal in 4 of those matches as well. This is going to be a low scoring and more defensive match that stays under 2.5 goals.
USA MLS Playoffs: Houston Dynamo/Seattle Sounders under 2.5 goals, Rot. 209854