Ever since the Seattle Sounders first entered MLS, they’ve been among the best road teams in the league. For whatever reason, that has not translated to playing at Real Salt Lake. The Sounders are currently riding a 14-game regular-season winless run in Sandy, Utah and carry a 1-12-4 road record into today’s match. During that winless run the Sounders have been outscored 23-5.

What makes that record particularly head-scratching is that the Sounders are 10-5-2 against RSL at home during the same stretch.

Here’s what you need to know to be ready for the match:

Injury news

RSL

OUT: Matthew Bell - Hamstring; Zac MacMath - Shoulder

QUESTIONABLE: Alex Katranis - Arm; Ariath Piol - Hamstring

Sounders

OUT: Reed Baker-Whiting - Hamstring

Opposition players to watch

• Diego Luna: Just about everything good that RSL does runs through Luna at this point. Although he’s usually deployed as a nominal left winger, he will likely get the most touches and will float inside a ton. Last year, he was named MLS Young Player of the Year after posting eight goals and 12 assists.
• Dominic Marczuk: The former Poland youth international was RSL’s big acquisition last summer and hasn’t quite hit, but is likely a player they’ll need to produce.
• Forster Ajago: The Ghanian forward has sort of grabbed the starting No. 9 spot by default. He’s consistently gotten himself into good spots through the team’s first three games, but has just one goal.

Sounder at Heart will receive a portion of all sales made using this link.

Stats to look smart

• On July 7, 2024, RSL were sitting atop the Western Conference with 43 points and had scored 48 goals through 22 matches. Since then, RSL have gone 5-7-7 with 20 goals scored across all competitions, which includes a 0-2-1 record this year.
• It’s obviously quite early, but the Sounders have scored eight goals in three competitive matches this year. A year ago, they didn’t score their eighth goal until the sixth game of the year.

Tactics to impress

• Although the Sounders have been listing their lineups in different ways, they’ve actually been pretty consistent in how they deploy their attack. Three centerbacks usually sit while the wingbacks press forward. One wrinkle has been Alex Roldan sliding into the defensive midfield, which allows Obed Vargas to get more involved in the attack.
• Although they may not have the finishers they once had, Pablo Mastroeni’s squad is still quite attack minded. As bad as the scoreline looked in their regular-season opener, RSL were considerably more dangerous than the 4-0 scoreline suggested. They squeezed off 22 shots and had an xG of 1.77.

Kit matchup

Opposition research

Standings

Other reading

More listening