Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake
2 p.m. PST Saturday, May 26, CenturyLink Field, Seattle
Records:
Seattle: 2-5-2, 8 points, -4 GD (11th in West)
Real Salt Lake: 4-6-1, 13 points, -11 GD (9th in West)
Key injuries/absences:
It might be easier to list the Sounders who aren’t injured at this point. Seattle has had concerns leading up to the match about whether it could field a full 18-player roster. The Rave Green may be able to avoid that fate, but three players – not including forward Jordan Morris (season-ending ACL injury) – are listed as out, according to this week’s MLS injury report: Midfielders Victor Rodriguez (right knee surgery) and Osvaldo Alonso (left quad), and forward Will Bruin (left heel). Defender Roman Torres (Panama) and midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay) are preparing for the World Cup with their national teams – and nagging injuries might have kept them out this weekend anyway. And defender/midfielder Gustav Svensson (Sweden) is also away on national-team duty.
Real Salt Lake also has some key injuries as defender Tony Beltran is out for the majority of the season following knee surgery, while defenders Shawn Barry and Demar Phillips are out with knee and ankle injuries, respectively. The Claret and Cobalt’s spark plug striker, Joao Plata, is questionable with a quad injury.
Key players:
Because of their goal-scoring difficulties, the Sounders have been forced into being more of a defensive-minded team in 2018. RSL, with 14 goals scored in 11 matches, may be the perfect tonic for a Sounders team desperate for three points on their home turf. Seattle has been stingy in the back for the most part this season, allowing 11 goals in nine outings. The Sounders will need Chad Marshall to be his usual self in taking away any aerial threats from RSL. Left back Nouhou was a bright spot for the team in their 1-0 loss to Portland last time out. With Alonso out and Svensson out, expect Cristian Roldan and Jordy Delem to team up in the center of the park, regardless of whether Seattle goes with a 4-2-3-1 or 5-4-1 formation. And the Sounders really need forward Clint Dempsey to break out of his funk as he has yet to score in MLS play.
Real Salt Lake may still be smarting from their last match, a 4-1 thumping at the hands of the Philadelphia Union in Chester, Pa. Midfielder Damir Kreilach provided one highlight for RSL, scoring on a nifty one-time shot near the top of the box to draw RSL within a goal in the 64th minute. Kreilach is also tied for the team-high with three assists. Albert Rusnak (three goals, three assists) needs to have a big game against the Sounders’ depleted midfield. Jefferson Savarino has burned Seattle before with his speed on the wing. And ageless goalkeeper Nick Rimando has always been a pest for the Sounders, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him make a few keys saves, particularly for an RSL side that has conceded 25 goals in 11 games, the second-highest total in the league. The wild card? Homegrown forward Corey Baird, who has three goals in 2018, was a college teammate of Seattle’s Jordan Morris at Stanford, where Baird helped the Cardinal win three straight NCAA crowns.
Key stats:
0: The number of scoring chances created by the Sounders in an offensively dreadful outing at Portland two weeks ago. Seattle had one shot on goal and rarely had possession in dangerous areas as it appeared to sorely miss Bruin. Dempsey started at striker and was largely invisible, scoring a subpar 121 points in the Audi Player Index, good for sixth on the team. That’ll have to change for Seattle to score, even against a porous RSL back line.
1: That’s the number of points RSL has in six road matches to start the season. After a respectable 1-1 draw at Dallas in their season opener, the Claret and Cobalt have lost five straight away from Sandy, Utah, getting outscored 16-3 in the process. A slow start Saturday will likely spell trouble for the visitors.
