Two clubs looking to return to form will do battle today in a friendly between the Houston Dynamo and Aston Villa. The match scheduled for 9 p.m. ET will be held at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston and can be live streamed here free. No additional TV coverage can be found for the contest.
Despite not obtaining the required points to return to the playoffs in 2014, Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear is welcoming a break in league action. Last season, the club defeated Stoke City in the Charity's Cup. Kinnear and company will look to do more of the same against Aston Villa.
"I enjoy the outside competition," he said (via the club's official website). "It's a little bit different. You see something you don't see either in preseason or during the year. These are great teams and great players and guys get up for it in a little bit of a different way. Sometimes it's a good little break, but a working break is good for the players."
When asked about the current direction of his season, Kinnear added: "We've had some good moments, we've had some moments where we're kind of scratching our heads over the weeks here. I think the level of frustration that we've hit, it's good in a way because the guys are expecting more and that's what you want come these last 14 games."
"We have quality in the locker room, I think we have enough quality to go on a good run and put ourselves in a good spot so we can be contending late in the season."
The first step towards contention will be taken against Aston Villa tonight.
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: After spending the past few seasons in Liga MX, American international DaMarcus Beasley has returned to MLS. The 32-year-old signed a designated player contract with the Dynamo on Wednesday and will look to make his club debut this evening.
Houston's Projected Lineup (4-4-2): Deric; Beasley, Cochran, Horst, Sarkodie; Driver, Creavalle, Carrasco, Lopez; Cummings, Bruin
Aston Villa's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Guzman; Richardson, Okore, Vlaar, Bacuna; Delph, Westwood, Yueng; Weimann, Cole, Weimann
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