A full house is expected at the Shell Energy Stadium this midweek as Houston Dynamo take on Louisville City in the round of 16 of the 2026 US Open Cup on Wednesday. With a place in the quarter-finals at stake, both teams will be looking to bring their A-game as they bid to secure a spot among the final eight in the competition.
Having been eliminated in the round of 16 of last season’s Open Cup by eventual runners-up Austin FC, Houston Dynamo kicked off the new campaign with an impressive 4-1 win over USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive a couple of weeks ago.
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The Orange Crush have had the good fortune of being drawn against another lower-division side and will be optimistic of putting their recent lapses behind them and getting a result to push them further in the competition as they seek a third USOC title.
Louisville City currently lead the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship after seven games, but they face a steep rise in opposition quality when they make the trip to Houston this midweek.
Simon Bird’s side secured 2-0 victories over lower-division sides Southern Indiana and Lexington SC in the earlier rounds of the cup before causing an upset with an impressive 2-1 win over Austin FC in the round of 16, and they will be looking to write another chapter in their underdog story this midweek.
Houston Dynamo vs Louisville City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The sides have met on only two previous occasions going into Wednesday’s game, with Houston winning both games by an aggregate scoreline of 6-2.
- Louisville boast the second-best offensive record in the USL Championship this season, having scored 15 goals in seven games.
- The hosts have won the US Open Cup on two previous occasions, most recently in 2023, while the visitors’ best run in the competition came in 2018, when they reached the quarterfinals.
- The visitors have not lost a competitive game on the road since last June.
Houston Dynamo vs Louisville City Prediction
Ben Olsen’s side are the heavy favorites going into this cup clash and will only need to avoid complacency and improve on their recent goalscoring numbers to book a place in the quarterfinals.
Louisville will need something really special to avoid defeat in normal time and can only hope for a replication of their performance in the last round if they are to advance to the next round.
Prediction: Houston Dynamo 2-0 Louisville City
Houston Dynamo vs Louisville City Betting Tips
Tip 1 – Result: Houston Dynamo to win
Tip 2 – Goals – Over/under 2.5 – Under 2.5 goals (Four of the hosts’ last six matches have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 – Both teams to score: No
Edited by Peter Pedroncelli
