Houston Dynamo v Colorado Rapids: Olsen says hosts ´running on fumes´

Ben Olsen admits many of his Houston Dynamo players are running “on fumes” after a busy period, ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Colorado Rapids.

The Dynamo sit ninth in the Western Conference, nine games into the season, having registered four wins and five defeats thus far.

They lost 2-0 to Austin FC in their most recent league outing, then were in U.S. Open Cup action in midweek, edging out Louisville City 2-1 after extra time.

Houston have now played a midweek game in each of the last three weeks, taking to the field seven times in April in total, and Olsen admits some rotation may be needed this weekend.

“We came through, I thought we managed it pretty well,” Olsen said. “We still want to manage it with the ball more and create more chances.

“But again, our guys are running on fumes. Some of them have put a lot in, and it’s been Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday for a bit.

“That’s going to continue, so we have to rest and see what we can put together for Colorado.

“You don’t want to burn these guys out, but you want them to push themselves and they’re elite athletes who should be able to play quite a bit.

“There’s a lot that goes into this, and sometimes you get it right. Sometimes it ends up being trickier.”

The Rapids were also pushed to their limits by non-MLS opposition in the U.S. Open Cup, beating the Colorado Springs Switchbacks on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

Matt Wells’ side are two places and one point clear of the Dynamo in the Western Conference, though their most recent league game was a 3-1 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps last week.

Moving on pic.twitter.com/3XcVbaB0Ax

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) April 30, 2026

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Ibrahim Aliyu

In Houston’s last home match, a 1-0 win over San Diego FC, Aliyu scored his 13th MLS goal, 10 of which have come for the Dynamo.

Seven of his 10 goals for the club have come at Shell Energy Stadium.

Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro

Navarro scored Colorado’s lone goal in a 3-1 loss at Vancouver last Saturday, and he has netted four of the last five goals scored by a Rapids player (excluding own goals).

He leads MLS in goal contributions this regular season with 11 (seven goals, four assists).

MATCH PREDICTION – HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

The Houston Dynamo are unbeaten in their last four home regular-season meetings with the Colorado Rapids (W2 D2).

This is their longest home unbeaten run in the regular-season series between these teams since a six-game streak (W4 D2) to start the fixture from April 2006 to June 2010.

Six of Houston’s nine regular-season matches in 2026 have been decided by exactly one goal, including their 1-0 victory over San Diego last time out at home, so a tight affair could be on the cards.

And the Rapids tend to struggle on the road, making them outsiders.

They have only posted two regular-season away wins since the beginning of last April (D4 L14), tied for the second fewest in MLS in that span, with only the LA Galaxy recording fewer (one). The Rapids’ 0.5 points per away match in that time are the fewest in the league.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 42.1%

Colorado Rapids – 31.2%

Draw – 26.7%