On Saturday afternoon, the Sounders head to British Columbia in hopes of picking up the club’s first trophy of 2015. With the Cascadia Cup on the line and the Western Conference standings growing closer every day, it’s a big matchup at BC Place. Tomorrow’s fixture marks the fourth time these teams have met this season between MLS and Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League play, and they will go head to head again on Wednesday evening at CenturyLink Field.
To preview the fixture, SoundersFC.com chatted with Jason deVos of TSN.
A Packed Schedule
Carl Robinson will make a number of changes to his lineup after midweek SCCL play. A lot of key players didn’t compete in the match against CD Olimpia and they’ll come back into the mix for Saturday. Their stars – Cristian Techera, Pedro Morales and Octavio Rivero – will be back in. That’s the direction he’ll go.
When you’re winning games and fielding your second-tier players and getting victories, it shows the accomplishments of the club. Robinson has really built a club, not just a starting XI. The Whitecaps will still be missing a few players on Saturday –Matias Laba is still suspended – but there are guys who can come in, step up and get the job done.
Familiar Foe
I think familiarity breeds contempt in this case. You want those heated rivalries in soccer. It’s important to have that. With the Cascadia rivalry, those matches carry extra electricity. When you walk up to the stadium you can feel the extra buzz in the community. Players feel that, too. It adds spice to the game and that’s a good thing. This will be a competitive, feisty affair and I’m hoping for a good game between two top teams.
Confidence is Key
From Vancouver’s perspective, winning translates into confidence. From Seattle’s perspective, having everyone back either from injury, illness or international duty gives that extra boost. When everyone’s in good form, Seattle is one of the best teams in MLS. The Gold Cup was a challenge for teams this year, especially the Sounders. The team was missing both Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins for a good part of the summer and when you take them out of the equation, that’s a big loss to overcome. It’d be a challenge for any team in MLS to lose their top players.
For a neutrally sided observer, everyone is hoping both teams have a full compliment of players to choose from. You want to see the best XI from these two squads fight it out this weekend.
