Seattle Sounders were on a two-game winning run before they travelled to Vancouver to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps in a Major League Soccer (MLS) clash played on Saturday night. The winning run came to an end after they were beaten 2-1 by Vancouver Whitecaps.
The MLS playoff hopes of Atlanta United and Toronto are hanging by a thread as both sides meet on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a critical match for each team. Atlanta have lost two in a row, currently trailing FC Cincinnati for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by six points, while the Reds are just a point ahead of the Five Stripes but have played one more game. Internal issues within the Atlanta camp have reared their ugly head once again as the club suspended record goalscorer Josef Martinez for one game because of an alleged locker room altercation with manager Gonzalo Pineda.
Seattle Sounders are eyeing a return to winning ways on the Major League Soccer (MLS) football scene ahead of their game with hosts Portland Timbers at the weekend. Sounders are guests of Timbers on Saturday evening. Seattle Sounders are on a three-match winless run ahead of the away game with Timbers. They have not won a game on the 2022 MLS football scene since the start of this month.
Following the Sounders’ 1-0 loss in Chicago last weekend, we called it a defining moment in their season. Fortunately for everyone concerned, they bounced back on Saturday with a 2-1 home win versus the Rapids. Now it will be a case of building some momentum moving forward, starting with a massive away game on Friday against an LAFC side with the league’s best record. First things first though, here are four takeaways from the Sounders’ victory over the Rapids:
Two teams in the bottom half of the Major League Soccer Western Conference will compete on Sunday in an encounter that both Seattle Sounders and Colorado Rapids will be desperate to win. The hosts head into the game without a victory in their previous three outings, while the visitors are undefeated across the same period of time.
Seattle’s consistency has varied massively throughout the season as they have won eight times and lost 10, managing just two draws in amongst all of that. A change in that is something that could help the club push themselves further up the league table, and a victory could see them move as high as sixth place if other results go their way.
Despite that, Brian Schmetzer’s men are heading into this particular match on Sunday in poor form which they will want to put behind them as they have lost three consecutive matches. A bigger problem for Seattle is the fact that they have not scored a single goal throughout those fixtures, with plenty of pressure being placed on the attacking players right now. Their most recent outing saw them beaten 1-0 by Chicago Fire as Rafael Czichos scored in the first half, which proved to be enough to secure the result on the day.
Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer form:
WLWLLL
Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer form:
DLLDDW
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Cleveland; Rowe, Gomez, Arreaga, Tolo; Rusnak, Leyva, Morris, Lodeiro, Roldan; Bruin
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Rosenberry, Abubakar, Wilson, Esteves; Acosta, Barrios, Rubio, Priso, Lewis; Zardes
Seattle Sounders might be higher in the league table, but they are not the favourites in this one due to their recent poor form, which is the opposite for the visitors. Colorado Rapids have been performing well as of late both defensively and offensively, and that confidence could see them continue that form this weekend.
Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas has been ruled out of action for the foreseeable future due to a lower back injury. Sounders manager Brian Schmetzerinformed reporters during a press conference at Starfire Sports on Monday that the young player will spend some time on the sidelines due to a lower back stress fracture.
