Sounders vs Rapids Preview

Sounders vs Rapids Preview by Chris Brown

Saturday’s late kick off features a Western Conference clash from CenturyLink Field as Seattle Sounders host the league leading Colorado Rapids.

Jordan Morris scored Seattle’s only goal in the teams first meeting on April 23rd. (Photo Credit: Corbin Elliott)

The two sides have already met this season when Seattle traveled to Colorado on April 23rd. The Rapids came away with a 3-1 victory on that night on the strength of goals from Jermaine Jones, Luis Solignac and Kevin Doyle. Jordan Morris scored the lone goal for Seattle on the evening.

Seattle started the season slowly and currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference with a record of 4-5-1 but have improved over the past month winning three of their last five games.

Colorado currently sit in first place in both the Western Conference and Supporter Shield standings on 24 points with a record of 7-2-3. The Rapids haven’t tasted defeat since April 9th when a Zac MacMath goalkeeping error doomed Colorado to a 0-1 loss away to Real Salt Lake.

When the Sounders visited the Rapids in April they were without talisman Clint Dempsey, who was unable to travel with the team due to tightness in his groin, but Dempsey is back and available for this weekend’s rematch. Seattle will be without forward Nelson Valdez who was ruled out by head coach Sigi Schmid. Valdez has been called up by Paraguay for national team duty and Schmid hasn’t ruled him out for next weekend’s matchup, a good sign for Sounders fans. Defender Chad Marshall is questionable for the matchup as he’s been held out of practice several days with muscle tightness. If Marshall is unable to go expect to see Zach Scott in the starting eleven. Scott has played several times this season in place of Captain Brad Evans and has played well when he’s been called on.

Rapids players celebrate after taking the lead against Seattle on April 23rd. (Photo Credit: Corbin Elliott)

Colorado is still without a handful of defenders as Sean St. Ledger and Eric Miller are still recovering from injury but there may be good news concerning Marco Pappa. Colorado acquired the midfielder from Seattle during the offseason and Pappa was an early season hit in Colorado before injury forced the Guatemalan out for the past month. Pappa strained his MCL during the Snow Clasico against New York RedBulls on April 16th and wasn’t able to play against his former club on April 23rd. Marco has been making progress and is considered questionable coming into the match vs Seattle, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him play a role off the bench against his former club.

For Seattle the emphasis in this match will be on creating goal scoring opportunities against a tough Rapid defense. So far in 2016 the Sounders have scored the 2nd fewest goals in MLS leading only Chicago Fire. 10 goals in 10 games is a surprising sum for a team with as much attacking talent as Seattle has, but the departure of Obafemi Martins created a vacuum that Sigi Schmid has had a hard time filling. Over recent weeks the attack has looked healthier but Colorado will provide a stern test.

The Rapids have only conceded a league best nine goals this season and head Coach Pablo Mastroeni finally has options at the back after a dearth of early season defensive injuries.

Seattle’s most important player in this matchup might be Andreas Ivanschitz. After being injured against Colorado in April he’s come on as a sub in each of Seattle’s last two matches. The Austrian’s delivery from the wing and on set pieces could cause Colorado trouble. If Ivanschitz can keep his deliveries away from the towering head of Axel Sjoberg it’s easy to imagine the Sounders scoring from a dead ball situation.

Andreas Ivanschitz will want to keep his deliveries away from 6’7″ Axel Sjoberg. (Photo Credit: Corbin Elliott)

For the Rapids the key to his match will be to replicate their home form on the road, something they’ve failed to do this year. At home Colorado sets the tone for the game, they pass the ball quickly and mix up their attacks. On the road they are far too reactionary. Colorado sits back early and lets the home team establish a rhythm. Once that happens they get stuck inside their own half and concede too many opportunities to their opponents. When Colorado goes down a goal on the road the sense of urgency they play with at home appears and they begin dictating play. If the Rapids allow Clint Dempsey and the Sounders to establish that early rhythm, it could be a humbling evening for Colorado.

So far this season each team has had success at home while struggling on the road. For the Sounders, all four of their wins have come at CenturyLink Field and they have yet to lose on their home turf. For Colorado, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park has been a fortress and the Rapids boast a perfect record of 6-0-0 at home. The Rapids road form is a different story. Colorado is 1-2-3 on the road, their lone win coming against Sporting KC in early April, and Colorado has fallen behind in each of their past two road games before coming back to earn a pair of draws. If trends continue than its certainly a positive sign for Seattle.