Real Salt Lake at Houston Dynamo 2/27/22 - Major League Soccer Picks & Predictions

On Sunday, the Houston Dynamo host Real Salt Lake In the opening match of the 2022 MLS regular season for both. Houston finished last or 13th in the Western Conference last season at 6-12-16 on 30 points with a goal difference of -18. Austin FC was the only club that scored fewer goals than Houston’s 36 last season. Houston parted ways with manager Tab Ramos and have hired Paulo Nagamura, whose only experience was with Sporting Kansas City II.

The key players for Houston this season include Fafa Picault, who was one of the few bright spots on the club last season. The forward scored 11 goals and added four assists in 31 appearances in the MLS. Matias Vera is another important piece of the puzzle for Houston.  The Argentine is very versatile and will be playing his fourth season with Houston and can play either No. 6, 8 or 10 and fulfill each role. Although optimism reins in Houston as things can't get any worse than last season, time will tell how Nagamura will do in his first season at the helm.

Real Salt Lake finished seventh in the MLS Western Conference at 14-6-14 on 48 points with a goal difference of +1. In the postseason, Real Salt Lake opened with a victory over the Seattle Sounders and followed that with a victory over Sporting Kansas City but was eliminated in the Western Conference Finals by the Portland Timbers. Pablo Mastroeni took over midway through the season as interim manager following the resignation of Freddy Juarez.

Real Salt Lake lost Albert Rusnak, Jeizon Ramirez and Donny Toai during the off-season. However, the club added striker Sergio Cordova from Venezuela on loan from FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga. Another addition was defender Johan Kappelhof who was a free agent after leaving the Chicago Fire. Midfielder Scott Caldwell, known for his defense, also joined the club as a free agent after completing a deal with New England.