Clint Dempsey slipping past Dax McCarty and Drew Conner.
Seattle Sounders FC (3-8-2, 10th in West) vs. Chicago Fire (5-7-4, 7th in East)
The Chicago Fire will look to get their maiden win in Cascadia as they take on struggling Seattle Sounders FC. Last year, the Fire got an emphatic 4-1 win over the Sounders at Toyota Park.
However, the Fire are 0-11-3 all-time in Cascadia and 0-5-1 all-time in all competitions in Seattle. But with the Sounders in their current slump at the moment (four losses in their last five in league play), maybe the Fire can break their duck.
Only Will Bruin has scored more than once for the Sounders this season with three—the same number that Cristian Roldan, Nicolas Lodeiro, and Harry Shipp have put together. Clint Dempsey has yet to score for the Sounders who have by far the most anemic offense in the league.
After eliminating Atlanta United in the US Open Cup on Wednesday, the question is what sort of lineup will Veljko Paunovic put out on Saturday. Bastian Schweinsteiger played all 90 minutes on turf on Wednesday as did Dax McCarty. Johan Kappelhof is suspended due to yellow-card accumulation.
Either the Sounders will light a spark in their offense against the 7th-worst defense in MLS, or the Fire will take advantage of a slumping Sounders team. That may depend on the kind of lineup Paunovic sends given that most of this first team played in the match against Atlanta in the Open Cup on Wednesday.
Kickoff is at 9pm on ESPN+ in Chicago and the Nation and JOEtv and YouTube TV in Seattle.
SUSPENDED:
CHI: Johan Kappelhof (yellow card accumulation)
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW:
SEA: Osvaldo Alonso
CHI: Kevin Ellis
INJURIES:
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC—OUT: F – Jordan Morris (torn ACL), D – Kelvin Leerdam (right hamstring strain), M – Handwalla Bwana (right midfoot strain), F – Felix Cehnkam (right hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE: M – Lamar Neagle (left groin strain)
CHICAGO FIRE–OUT: M – Djordje Mihailovic (right ACL surgery), F – Michael de Leeuw (left ACL surgery), D – Matt Polster (MCL surgery), GK – Patrick McLain (hamstring injury); D – Drew Conner (right calf injury)
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Kyle Atkins, Jeffrey Greeson
4th Official: Alejandro Mariscal
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
LAST YEAR:
5/13/17: CHI 4-1 SEA
Chicago Fire
Seattle Sounders FC
