The Seattle Sounders are hosting the Houston Dynamo on Saturday in their second and final meeting of the regular season. Here is everything you need to know:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. PT on the Emerald Queen Casino Pitch at Lumen Field (TICKETS).
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available to watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air in English on 93.3 KJR FM and in Spanish on El Rey 1360AM.
2023 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 8-7-5 (29 points, 3rd West), Dynamo: 8-8-3 (27 points, 4th West)
FORM GUIDE (most recent first, MLS matches only): Seattle: DLDDL, Houston: LWWWL
PREVIOUS MEETING: The Sounders defeated the Dynamo 1-0 on May 13 at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston behind an 87th-minute winner from Paul Rothrock, who had been signed from Tacoma Defiance on a short-term agreement. Houston finished the match with nine men after both Amine Bassi and Hector Herrera were sent off.
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: The Sounders continue to be without Jordan Morris (United States), Cristian Roldan (United States) and Alex Roldan (El Salvador), who are with their respective national teams for the Concacaf Gold Cup. The Dynamo are without central midfield staple Coco Carrasquilla, who is competing with Panama.
RAGEN SUSPENDED: Seattle will be without center back Jackson Ragen, who is suspended because of yellow-card accumulation. With Xavier Arreaga out with a quad injury, it will likely be either AB Cissoko or Josh Atencio as Yeimar’s running mate in central defense.
ALL-STAR SELECTIONS: The Sounders and Dynamo each have one representative on the recently named MLS All-Star Team that will take on Arsenal at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., on July 19. Seattle sends Morris, who leads the team with nine goals, while Houston is represented by Herrera, a Mexican legend in midfield now in his second season with the club.
CLEAN SHEET KINGS: The Sounders and goalkeeper Stefan Frei are coming off another clean sheet defensively, their MLS-leading 10th of the campaign through 20 matches. Seattle has conceded a Western Conference-best 18 goals, two behind Nashville SC for the fewest in the league.
SERIES SMACKDOWN: Seattle has defeated Houston in 11 of the last 12 meetings (including the playoffs) since 2017.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES: The Dynamo have been one of the best home teams in MLS this season, posting a 7-1-1 record with the lone loss at the hand of the Sounders. On the road, however, Houston has taken just five points from 30 on offer (1-7-2). The Dynamo scored just seven total times in those 10 matches.
FINAL FOUR: First-year Houston Head Coach Ben Olsen has led his side to the semifinals of the 2023 U.S. Open Cup. The Dynamo will host Real Salt Lake on Aug. 23 with the winner set to take on the winner of FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami for the title.
BRAD SMITH RETURNS: The Sounders matched up against former left back Brad Smith for the first time when the clubs met back in May. Smith, who spent 2022 with D.C. United before joining the Dynamo this past offseason, will make his first visit to Lumen Field as an opponent. The 29-year-old Australian appeared in 63 regular-season matches for Seattle from 2018-21, scoring three goals and registering 12 assists. He also started all four postseason matches in 2019 en route to Seattle capturing its second MLS Cup.
