Sounders relishing ‘opportunity’ to face likely playoff teams

Jeremiah Oshan -

RENTON – For better or worse, the Seattle Sounders will have a much better idea of how they stack up in the Western Conference hierarchy over the next four games.

Yes, there’s the literal matter of those games determining where they’ll be in the standings, but also in a larger sense as well. Each of the next four matches will be against teams who are currently within three points of them in the table. To put it another way, if the Sounders are to make any sort of serious run in the playoffs this year, they’ll have to do it against teams just like the four they’ll face over the next month.

“We’re happy we get to play against opponents where it really, really matters for us,” Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei said following Friday’s training session. “It gives us an opportunity to have it in our own hands.”

That starts on Saturday when they host the Houston Dynamo, who currently sit one spot and one point ahead of the Sounders in the Western Conference standings. The Sounders have won six straight and never lost to the Dynamo in 16 all-time matches at Lumen Field.

The Dynamo are the most possession-heavy team in MLS (nearly 60%) as well as one of the best defensive squads (having allowed the second fewest goals), but have struggled to score (only two Western Conference teams have scored fewer goals). They also come into this game in reasonably good form, going 3-0-2 over their last five and 7-2-3 over their last 12 league games.

Frei said he sees this more as an opportunity than a challenge.

“If you’re focusing on yourself more, it’s more of an opportunity,” he said. “If you believe in yourself, that’s more opportunity. We have a good squad. If we come out strong and do the things we need to do defensively to minimize their potency, we set ourselves up for a lot of positives to come out of that game.”

Playoff scenarios

The Sounders will clinch a playoff spot with a win. They can also clinch a playoff spot with a draw if FC Dallas drop points against Orlando City. They can even clinch with a loss if FC Dallas loses and Austin drop points against Real Salt Lake.

Injury updates

  • Léo Chú (illness) and Raúl Ruidíaz (knee) were held out of training on Friday and were officially listed as questionable on the injury report.
  • João Paulo (calf) was a limited participant in training but was officially listed as out. Schmetzer said there’s a chance he could be ready for the Whitecaps game on Wednesday, but did not commit to anything.
  • Pedro de la Vega came out of Thursday’s training session early but was a full participant on Friday. Schmetzer said the fitness staff is just trying to find the right workload to ensure that the Young Designated Player is available for all three of the upcoming games.