Have you been to the city with no limits? Space City, where humanity dares to dream of reaching out and touching the stars. H-Town, the 713, the biggest city in the state where everything’s bigger, and the location of your Loons next midweek matchup as they look to keep their scintillating form burning in the Texas heat.

Minnesota United (6-2-4)

Run of Form: W-W-W-L-D (All competitions)

The Loons are on fire. They’ve been superb in 2025, losing just twice and picking up some huge wins along the way to their current second-place position in the Western Conference. Since rediscovering their goal-scoring form against Austin a few weeks ago, the Black and Blue have strung together three consecutive wins across all competitions, showcasing depth, quality, and versatility on their way to advancing in the USOC and keeping themselves relevant in the race for the Supporters’ Shield. The vibes are at an all-time high.

Houston Dynamo FC (2-6-4)

Run of Form: L-W-L-W-D (All competitions)

It’s not even fun to say it anymore, but Houston … you seem to have a problem here. I’m sorry, I had no choice; they’ve let this fruit grow so low to the ground that it would be a crime not to pick it. It’s been a tough start to 2025 for the Dynamo, picking up just 10 points, two wins, and the exact opposite goal difference of MNUFC (11 goals for, 19 against). They’ll win 2-0 against Austin one week, only to flail in a 2-0 defeat to LAFC the next. Their most recent 3-1 loss to a surging Seattle side is understandable, and they’ll be happy to have at least gotten on the scoreboard, but the state of this team is far from what the Dynamo faithful would’ve hoped for in the offseason.

Keys to the Match:

Subtle, Yet Effective

In the last few weeks, injuries and fixture congestion prompted Coach Ramsay to try out a new formation. Sure, the switch from the usual 5-3-2 (or 3-5-2 if you like) to a 3-4-2-1 was subtle, but look at what it’s done for the squad: After scoring just a single goal in three games, the Loons exploded for three goals against Austin, then followed that up with a four-goal beatdown against Inter Miami. From one goal in three to seven goals in two: That’s an effective shift. But why? Well, by giving Robin Lod and Joaquín Pereyra license to occupy the half-space between the opposition’s midfield and backline, they took some of the attacking onus off of the lone striker, spreading the threat and allowing them to showcase their offensive firepower. By opting for a double pivot of Wil Trapp and Carlos Harvey instead of dual strikers, the Loons freed their creative players up to play without having to stress about their defensive duties as much, and it paid dividends immediately. A late switch against Miami saw the Loons revert back to the 5-3-2, putting numbers up top to take advantage of tired Miami legs. This slight change enables the Loons to change their style very effectively and forces opposing teams to adapt to whichever setup Coach Ramsay opts for.

Trapp Game?

Icarus flew too high, don’t you remember? In his excitement, he caused the wax holding his wings together to melt, and his joyous ride ended quite abruptly. Much like everyone’s favorite Greek cautionary tale, sports teams often fear the onset of complacency when things are going well. While this Loons squad doesn’t seem to be one that would make as foolish a mistake as Icarus did, trap games are a very real threat in a league with so much parity. Sure, Houston has been pretty poor to start 2025, but that doesn’t mean they can’t pull out a surprising performance to clip the Loons’ wings after they soared so high against Miami. The likes of Amine Bassi and Ezequiel Ponce are still talented and threatening, despite their team’s overall performance. Building off the first key, it would behoove Ramsay and company to stick with the 3-4-2-1, at least to start this weekend’s match. The solidity provided by the double pivot of Trapp and Harvey suits this team’s strengths incredibly well and will enable them to more effectively nullify any dynamic play the Dynamo manage to muster in this midweek matchup. While this key was mostly meant to make a Wil Trapp pun, the point still stands: When there’s worry of a trap game, opting for a strong double pivot is hardly ever a bad idea.

A Good Problem to Have

With the recent emergence of Anthony Markanich as a legitimate starting option, the acquisition of Julian Gressel, and a demonstrated versatility in formation, the Loons have healthy competition for every position on the field. While a few names are almost untouchable on the team sheet, it’s the hallmark of a good team to have players knocking on the door for starting spots and making their coach’s life more difficult by forcing them to make tough decisions. This kind of competition allows for squad rotation without a drop-off in quality, makes it easier to deal with any unfortunate injuries that crop up, and drives every competing player to constantly improve. Whether or not he switches up the formation, Coach Ramsay will have the option to switch up the personnel on Wednesday, and with such a busy fixture list on the horizon, it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a few changes to the starting lineup and a decent amount of subs in the matches to come. Don’t be surprised if you see the likes of Morris Duggan, Sang Bin Jeong, and the aforementioned rotational starters getting a bump in minutes over the next few weeks.