The Seattle Sounders visit the Montreal Impact on Wednesday for the only meeting between the two sides during the 2019 MLS regular season. Here is everything you need to know:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. PT at Stade Saputo in Montreal, Quebec.
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be televised on JOEtv and YouTube TV.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air on 950 KJR AM and El Rey 1360 AM.
2019 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 7-3-5 (26 points, 3rd West), Impact: 7-7-3 (24 points, 5th East)
FORM GUIDE (most recent first): Seattle: LLDWW, Montreal: LWLDL
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 2-4-1 all-time against the Impact, including a 1-2-1 mark on the road.
PREVIOUS MEETING: The Rave Green suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to the Impact on March 31, 2018. Seattle was firmly in the driver’s seat until they went down a man as Kelvin Leerdam received a straight red card in the 40th minute for a dustup with Daniel Lovitz. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the 10-man Sounders carved out a host of chances for the duration of the match. However, the Impact managed to weather the storm, escaping CenturyLink Field with three massive road points.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: Wednesday’s fixture features two of the premier shot-stoppers in Major League Soccer: Stefan Frei and Evan Bush. While Frei has racked up 10 more saves than his colleague this season, the pair were the only ‘keepers in 2018 to finish in the top five for both saves (114 vs. 132) and G-xG (-12.96 vs. -6.82).
Frei sits third in MLS with 50 saves this season
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: When the Sounders take the field at Stade Saputo in Wednesday, it will be the team’s fifth road match since May 4. Due to the looming international break, the Sounders won’t play a home match at CenturyLink Field until June 29, when they take on their Cascadia rival, the Vancouver Whitecaps.
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: Seattle could be missing as many as 10 First Team players on Wednesday, with Gustav Svensson (Sweden), Nicolás Lodeiro (Uruguay), Raúl RuidÃaz (Peru), Cristian Roldan (United States), Jordan Morris (United States), Román Torres (Panama), Jordy Delem (Martinique), Joevin Jones (Trinidad & Tobago), Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador) and Brad Smith (Australia) all receiving national team call-ups.
EQUAL FOOTING: The Impact will be short-handed as well, as star player Ignacio Piatti is expected to miss the next 2-3 months with a knee injury. Furthermore, Zachary Brault-Gillard and Samuel Piette will be with the Canadian national team preparing for the Gold Cup. Jukka Raitala may also miss the match, as the defender has been called up to the Finland national team for European Championship qualifiers.
THERE ARE YOUTHS EVERYWHERE: Seattle and Montreal are both helmed by head coaches that believe in promoting top talents from the youth system. Remi Garde was hired in part because of his track record with academy products Lyon (FRA), while the Sounders have signed six Homegrown players during Brian Schmetzer’s tenure as head coach.
HE’S BACK: On Saturday, Joevin Jones made his first appearance for the Sounders since December 2017, entering the match against FC Dallas as a substitute in the 77th minute.
KING OF MARTINIQUE: Delem is on pace to shatter his minutes-played record (856) since he signed with the Sounders FC First Team in 2017. Midway through the current campaign, the defensive midfielder from Martinique has already played 631 minutes during the regular season.
#THEFUTURE: With the Sounders missing several players through international call-ups on Wednesday, the game could feature First Team debuts from Homegrown signings Danny Leyva (16) and Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (17). The pair of prospects have been in stellar form for the Academy, Tacoma Defiance and United States U-17 Men’s National Team in recent months.
