September has been a busy month for Sounders FC but nothing has slowed the club down as the MLS regular season winds down. With a pair of clutch wins in the last week over regional rival Vancouver Whitecaps FC to secure both the Cascadia Cup and a spot in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League Knockout Round, the team is flying high as it turns its attention to Sporting Kansas City.
To preview Sunday’s nationally televised match (2 p.m. PT/ESPN), SoundersFC.com caught up with former SKC ‘keeper Andy Gruenebaum, who currently appears on SKCTV after joining the broadcast team in the offseason.
Don’t hit the panic button
The recent run of form hasn’t been great. SKC’s win at home against FC Dallas definitely was a step in the right direction, but Wednesday night against Houston, the team came out and looked flat. They just couldn’t perform on the road.
Now the squad looks ahead to this weekend’s match against Seattle and the good thing is that they are at home. Sporting Kansas City has performed well all season at Sporting Park (13-4-1 so far) and this is a team that can really step up in these types of high-pressure situations. Even without Benny Feilhaber and Matt Besler, SKC will find a way to get a result in front of their home crowd.
Resetting the lineups
They have to stay compact to be successful against Seattle. The Sounders are looking very good as of late and they have a style of play that’s difficult for other teams. That’s going to be a problem for SKC, especially as they’re missing two key players. They have to keep compact and make it hard for the Sounders attack to get forward.
In my opinion, this match isn’t going to necessarily be pretty but both teams are fighting for a result. Seattle can really get on the counterattack with guys like Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey up top and other teams struggle to stop them. It’ll be a long night if Sporting finds themselves stretched.
Playoff preview?
As a former player myself, I know guys have the mentality that every team – especially in the Western Conference – is a team you’ll have to go through in the playoffs. Every team is of a high caliber and there’s no cakewalk in this conference. It’s a stretch to call this match a must-win for Kansas City, especially as they’re preparing for a U.S. Open Cup Final on next week in Philadelphia. Having said that, they know they can find a result at home but they’ll be looking to take a conservative approach to ensure they have bodies rested for a big match on Wednesday night.
