Charlotte FC's predicted starting XI vs Houston Dynamo

By Ryan Donahue

Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/TopBin90

Charlotte FC looks to keep the good times rolling this week when they face off against the Houston Dynamo in Texas on Saturday. Charlotte, who under Dean Smith have molded into one of the top teams in Major League Soccer regarding defensive performance will look to continue its positive form ahead of Houston who sit just above the playoff line in the Western Conference.

Ahead of Charlotte’s match-up, our team took a look at who most likely, Dean will line up to face off against Houston this coming week.

Defensive unit

Defensively, Smith will look to keep the partnership of Adison Malanda and Andrew Privett as his starting center halves with Jere Uronen and Nathan Byrne likely to hold down the wings. Kristijan Kahlina will of course be in goal.

Midfield line

The midfield line is where there will be the most rotation as captain Ashley Westwood will be suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Djibril Diani will likely stay back as the primary defensive midfielder. Brandt Bronico will likely maintain his spot in the midfield.

Ben Bender and Scott Arfield appear to be the likely candidates to fill that third spot in Westwood's absence. This will also be the first time someone else wears the armband, so we will see who the team views as the secondary captain this weekend.

Forward line

Upfront the lineup will likely stay the same with Liel Abad and Kerwin Vargas both available for Saturday night, and Patrick Agyemang continuing to lead the line. Regular minutes and continuity seem to be benefitting this group so there is no reason to change them out until summer transfer reinforcements arrive.

Predicted XI