The Seattle Sounders return home on Saturday to face Columbus Crew SC after a tough loss on the road. Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about the game.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is Saturday at 1 p.m. PT at CenturyLink Field. Tickets for the match are available here.
WHERE TO WATCH: The game will be telecast on JOEtv and ROOT Sports (outside Seattle), with a pregame show beginning at 12:30 p.m. PT.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The game will be aired on KIRO 97.3 FM in English and on El Rey 1360AM in Spanish.
RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders (2-4-1, 7 pts., 9th in Western Conference), Crew SC (2-3-2, 8 pts., 6th in Eastern Conference)
MAN IN THE MIDDLE: The head referee for this match will be Juan Guzman, who has handed out 12 yellow cards in his two MLS games this season.
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The all-time series between the two teams is very tight, with a slight edge toward the Sounders, who are 4-3-3 against Crew SC since 2009. Columbus, however, have won their last two meetings against the Rave Green, one last season in Columbus by a 3-2 scoreline and one in 2014 at CenturyLink by a score of 2-1.
UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY: After a promising three-game unbeaten streak, the Sounders fell to the Colorado Rapids last weekend, snapping their momentum and plunging them back into 9th place in the Western Conference. Columbus were MLS Cup runners-up last season and considered one of the league’s best going into 2016. Like the Sounders, Crew SC find themselves in the bottom half of the table and struggling to meet expectations.
MORRIS ROLLING: Homegrown forward Jordan Morris scored again over the weekend, giving him two goals in the past two games. The Seattle youngster scored his first professional goal on April 16 against the Philadelphia Union after going scoreless over his first five games. After early concerns that the young forward would not live up to the hype, it seems Morris is now settling in to life on the professional level.
KEI IS KEY: Columbus have six points over their last two matches and are starting to look like the side they were expected to be at the beginning of the season. Forward Kei Kamara has also scored in both of the last two matches after only scoring once in the first five, during which the Crew went 0-3-2. Kamara, who was the 2015 Golden Boot runner up, is key to success for the Crew and will be a serious point of interest for the Seattle defense.
INJURY UPDATE: The Sounders played without both of their DP forwards last weekend in Colorado due to injuries picked up in training that week, but the club expects both Clint Dempsey [groin] and Nelson Valdez [hamstring] to be available against Columbus. Midfielder Erik Friberg made his first appearance last weekend since going down in week two with an MCL strain. He came in off the bench in the 50th minute and barring any setbacks in training, should be making his return to the starting lineup this weekend. The only other question mark is midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz, who skipped training on Monday after suffering a thigh strain in Colorado.
CAUGHT RED CARDED: Captain Brad Evans was sent off on Saturday by head referee Jorge Gonzalez shortly after the Rapids’ Kevin Doyle scored from a noticeably offside position in the 86th minute. Evans explained what happened after the game [video above], but this much is clear: With Román Torres still months away from his return, defender Zach Scott will likely be expected to step in for Evans, as he did twice earlier this season when Evans was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
THE STORY IN NUMBERS: The Sounders and Crew are separated by just one point. They have both scored seven goals and put 32 shots on target. The Sounders have conceded one more goal than the Crew and have taken four less total shots. The numbers tell a tale of limited separation and a tightly contested match. The biggest discrepancy is in fouls suffered, for which the Sounders have a hearty 98 and the Crew, a mere 69.
COLUMBUS-SEATTLE CONNECTIONS: Evans, head coach Sigi Schmid and defender Chad Marshall are all former members of the Columbus Crew, now in leadership roles for the Sounders. In 2008, Schmid, Evans, and Marshall won an MLS Cup and Supporters Shield together with Columbus. Crew SC defender Tyson Wahl, meanwhile, played for the Sounders from 2009-2011, appearing in 39 games for the Rave Green.
