The Seattle Sounders are visiting the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, Oct. 1, in their final road match of the regular season. Here is everything you need to know about the match:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 10 a.m. PT at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa.
WHERE TO WATCH: The game will be televised on ESPN.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The game will air on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and in Spanish on El Rey 1360 AM.
2017 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 12-8-11 (47 points, 4th West), Union: 9-13-9 (36 points, 10th East).
FORM GUIDE: Sounders: DDDLW; Union: DDDWL
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 4-2-3 all time against the Union, including an 0-2-2 mark on the road.
RECENT MEETINGS: The Sounders defeated the Union 2-1 on April 16, 2016, at CenturyLink Field in their only meeting last season. Chad Marshall and Jordan Morris each tallied for Seattle, Morris' first goal of his MLS career.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS: The Sounders can clinch their ninth consecutive trip to the postseason on Sunday if they win AND the Houston Dynamo lose to Minnesota United OR Real Salt Lake draws or loses to the LA Galaxy. They Sounders can also clinch if they draw with the Union AND Real Salt Lake loses to the LA Galaxy AND the San Jose Earthquakes draw or lose to the Portland Timbers.
BACK ON TRACK: The Sounders snapped their five-match winless streak with a cathartic and emphatic 3-0 win over their Cascadia rival the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday. The victory not only pulled Seattle to within one point of first place in the West, but it also kept its chances alive to claim the Cascadia Cup.
SHUFFLED LINEUP: Part of the Sounders’ success on Wednesday was Head Coach Brian Schmetzer’s decision to change personnel in his 4-2-3-1 formation. He started Gustav Svensson alongside Ozzie Alonso in defensive midfield, pushed Cristian Roldan to the No. 10 and pushed Clint Dempsey to the lone forward, a position he played as a False 9 and executed to perfection. The result was the Sounders’ best offensive performance since Aug. 5.
MR. CLEAN SHEET: Goalkeeper Stefan Frei recorded his 11th clean sheet of the season on Wednesday, which sets a career high and ties him for the club’s all-time single-season record. He also now leads MLS in shutouts, and his highlight-reel stop on Fredy Montero earned Frei the No. 1 spot on Sportscenter’s “Top 10 plays.”
ALONSO HURT: Sounders captain Ozzie Alonso exited Wednesday’s match with a right quad strain and his status for Sunday is unlikely.
RODRIGUEZ OUT: Midfielder Victor Rodriguez opened his MLS goalscoring account on Wednesday and added an assist to boot, but he will miss Sunday’s match. He flew home to Barcelona on Thursday to be with his wife for the expected birth of his child.
SUPER SAPONG: The Union are led by talented forward C.J. Sapong, who has a career-high 14 goals and five assists this season. Sapong has a goal and an assist against the Sounders in two games with the Union.
HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Union are in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference mostly due to a 1-9-6 road mark this year, but they’ve been very good at home. They sport an 8-4-3 record at Talen Energy Park.
ROUGH STRETCH: Philadelphia enters Sunday with just one win in their last eight games (1-3-4). The Union are 1-1-1 at home in that span.
