The Seattle Sounders go on the road to take on the New England Revolution in the first of a three game away stretch. Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about the match.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT at Gillette Stadium. Follow the match with us on our Matchcenter.
WHERE TO WATCH: The game will be telecast on JOEtv, ROOT Sports (Outside Seattle) and Univision-Seattle in Spanish, with a pregame show beginning at 4 p.m. PT. Check out one of our Pub Partners.
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 (4-6-1, 13 pts., 9th in Western Conference), Revolution (2-4-7, 13 pts., 8th in Eastern Conference)
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders and Revs are dead even in their history against each other, splitting the results 4-4-2. Seattle took the last meeting with a convincing 3-0 victory at home to open the 2015 campaign. New England took the one before that in a 5-0 blowout in 2014, a blip in the otherwise flawless Seattle regular season that ended with the Supporters’ Shield.
ROAD WOES: The Sounders will be searching for their first away win of 2016 when they travel to Foxborough this weekend. So far this season, the road has not been kind to the Rave Green, who are currently 0-3-1 when playing away from CenturyLink Field.
NO HOME SWEET HOME? Conversely, the Revolution are anything but comfortable at home this season. The team has played seven games at Gillette Stadium, with the Revs only converting two into victories.
FOR COUNTRY: The Sounders will play without their DP forwards, Clint Dempsey and Nelson Valdez, this weekend. Both players were called into their respective national teams (United States and Paraguay) to compete in the Copa America Centenario this summer. Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen was left off of the final U.S. Men’s National Team roster after being named to the 40-man preliminary roster but the Revs will lose midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson, who will be competing with Jamaica in the tournament.
INJURY UPDATE: Defender Chad Marshall was absent from the lineup last weekend with a right hamstring strain. It was the first time this season that Marshall has missed a minute. Head coach Sigi Schmid indicated last week that the injury was minor, but the defender’s status still remains in question for this weekend. Forward Oalex Anderson appeared to have picked up a knock in last weekend’s match after beating a defender and getting his heel clipped on the ensuing run. Anderson’s status has yet to be released to the public and his availability is unclear for the road trip.
YOU LOOK FAMILIAR: Forward Kei Kamara has a brand new color and it’s Revolution blue. The 2015 Golden Boot runner-up signed with the Revs on May 12, less than two weeks after he visited CenturyLink Field with Columbus Crew SC. The Sounders held him scoreless in that affair but will now have to do it again this weekend. Kamara has yet to tally a goal or assist in his two appearances with New England.
THE STORY IN NUMBERS: The Revolution have played two more games than the Sounders but have scored seven more goals and conceded 11 more (currently tied for most in the league with 24 total). They are also a physical team, having committed and suffered 177 fouls in both categories.
THE STRUGGLE IS REAL: The Sounders and Revolution have both had trouble adjusting in 2016. The two teams have had a rough start to the season, with both battling to get above the red line as the year rolls on. The Sounders have never missed the playoffs since joining the league in 2009 but currently sit 9th in the West. The Revolution haven’t missed since 2012 and were MLS Cup runner up in 2014, but now find themselves 8th in the East.
