The Seattle Sounders are taking on Real Salt Lake on Wednesday in their second meeting of the 2020 MLS regular season. Here is everything you need to know.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PT at CenturyLink Field.
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be televised on JOEtv and Prime Video.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air on 950 KJR AM and El Rey 1360 AM.
2020 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 8-3-3 (27 points, 1st West), RSL: 4-5-6 (18 points, 8th West)
FORM GUIDE (most recent first): Seattle: WWLWW, Real Salt Lake: LDWLL
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 10-12-5 all time against RSL, including a 9-3-2 mark at home.
PREVIOUS MEETING: Seattle and RSL played to a 2-2 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium on Sept. 2. Nicolás Lodeiro gave the Sounders a first-half lead before Justen Glad tied the match early in the second half. Yeimar Gómez Andrade made it 2-1 Seattle in the 69th minute before Pablo Ruiz equalized in the 85th to split the points.
MISSING INTERNATIONALS: The Sounders will be without Raúl RuidÃaz (Peru), Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador) and Gustav Svensson (Sweden), who are all away with their respective national teams. RuidÃaz and Arreaga are competing in CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualifying, while Svensson and the BlÃ¥gult have a friendly against Russia followed by UEFA Nations League matches against Croatia and Portugal.
SOUNDERS STREAKING: The Sounders have won four of their last five matches by a combined score of 16-4 and are just four points off the Supporters’ Shield lead with a match in hand.
OFFENSE GETS HEADLINES, DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: And the Sounders have both. Seattle boasts a league-best plus-19 goal differential, are second in goals scored (32) and tied for fourth in goals allowed (13).
MORRIS MVP CASE: Jordan Morris recorded another assist in the Sounders’ 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps last weekend and is tied for second in MLS with 14 goal contributions (7g/7a). He is also tied for second in big chances created. The 25-year-old Homegrown winger has already matched his career high in assists in half as many minutes and is truly thriving as both provider and finisher.
SALT LAKE STRUGGLES: Real Salt Lake have only one win in their last five matches and two in their last nine. RSL is hovering just above the playoff line and coming off a 3-1 home loss to LAFC.
ALBERT’S ABSENCE: RSL will be without its own Designated Player on Wednesday as well, as Albert Rusnák will be away with Slovakia for an UEFA European Championship qualifying match against Ireland followed by two Nations League matches against Scotland and Israel. Rusnák is having a quiet season by his own lofty standards with just three goals and two assists in 13 matches, but he’s a constant threat in the attacking third and will be one less thing the Sounders have to worry about.
GLAD TO BE BACK: Glad will return to RSL’s defense after serving a one-match suspension over the weekend for yellow card accumulation, and his presence will be a major boost for the Claret and Cobalt. RSL is 4-2-2 with 10 goals conceded when he starts at center back and 0-3-4 with 14 goals allowed when he starts at right back or doesn’t play at all.
