CARSON, Calif. – Looking to win its third straight match, Sounders FC is back in action on Wednesday night against Chivas USA at the StubHub Center. Head Coach Sigi Schmid has made just two changes to the lineup from the previous two victories, when he started the same starting XI for consecutive matches for the first time this season.
The lone changes come in the midfield, where Lamar Neagle returns to the starting lineup after three matches off the bench and Andy Rose will make his third start of the season. They enter in place of Marco Pappa, who is away with the Guatemala National Team at the Copa Centroamericana, and Gonzalo Pineda, who is on the bench for Seattle to give the veteran some extra rest entering a difficult upcoming stretch in the calendar.
Neagle will start on the left side of midfield with Brad Evans on the right and Rose will pair with Osvaldo Alonso in the middle. They will support the forward tandem of Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey, who have scored or assisted in 10 of the 13 matches they have started together this season.
Goalkeeper Stefan Frei will look to add to his league-best eight shutouts behind a back line of DeAndre Yedlin on the right, Leo Gonzalez on the left and a central duo of Chad Marshall and Zach Scott. That back four has started three of the previous four matches together.
Sounders FC has won six straight matches and is unbeaten in the last 12 meetings with Chivas USA.
The match kicks off at 7:30 pm PT with local television coverage on JOEtv (KZJO Ch. 22/Cable 10) and regionally on ROOT Sports.
Sounders FC XI – Stefan Frei, DeAndre Yedlin, Chad Marshall, Zach Scott, Leo Gonzalez, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose, Lamar Neagle, Obafemi Martins, Clint Dempsey.
