Brian Schmetzer has seen plenty of positives from Seattle Sounders so far this season but insists they are working on their goalscoring ahead of their match against Houston Dynamo.

Seattle have won just one of their four MLS matches so far this season – a 5-2 thrashing of Los Angeles FC in their last home match.

The Sounders sit 10th in the Western Conference on four points and are looking to bounce back after managing just one shot on target in last weekend's loss to St. Louis City.

"We've been working on scoring goals," he said. "The possession stats against St. Louis were good, but we've got nothing to show for it.

"We need good product and build-up in the final third. That's what we're working on this week.

"I feel with this group, they all know the system and the next test is going to be against a good Houston team, and we hope to get three points at home."

Houston, meanwhile, have endured a torrid start to the 2025 MLS season, and are still seeking their first win of the campaign. They sit second from bottom in the table, ahead of only LA Galaxy.

They earned their first point in their last road game – a 0-0 draw with Columbus Crew – but won a friendly against the El Salvador national team in midweek, a test which head coach Ben Olsen thinks could boost the team.

"We're in a situation where we haven't had a lot of wins," he said.

"Even if it was only a friendly win, we threw some players into it, and you could see the relationships start to build."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Seattle Sounders – Jesus Ferreira

In the absence of all-time record scorer Jordan Morris against St. Louis City, Jesus Ferreira was tasked with leading the line but endured an underwhelming outing.

He managed just one shot, worth 0.08 expected goals (xG), had only two touches in the box and had only one final third entry before going off in the 64th minute.

Houston Dynamo – Ezequiel Ponce

Ezequiel Ponce scored his first goal of the season against Real Salt Lake, though it was not enough to set them on their way to a win.

Having only had three shots as a team against Columbus Crew the week before, Ponce had four attempts against RSL, scoring with his only attempt on target.

MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN

The Sounders have never lost in 18 all-time home matches against Houston in all competitions (W14 D4, including a penalty shoot-out win in last season's playoffs). Houston have totaled five goals in those 18 games, being shut out 13 times.

Seattle have collected just four points from their first four matches this season with all of them coming at home (W1 D1). In fact, Seattle have lost only two of their last 22 regular-season home matches (W10 D10) dating back to September 2023.

Meanwhile, Houston are off to the worst start in club history with just one point through their first four matches (W0 D1 L3). The Dynamo have conceded eight goals this season, only allowing more at this stage of a season once before (10 in 2020).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Seattle Sounders – 51.6%

Draw – 24.6%

Houston Dynamo – 23.7%