EDITOR'S NOTE: Per Major League Soccer's announcement on Monday evening, Sounders FC's match against the Colorado Rapids has been postponed.
The Seattle Sounders are hosting the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday in their first meeting of the 2020 MLS regular season. Here is everything you need to know.
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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 1090 KJR AM and El Rey 1360 AM.
2020 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 9-4-3 (30 points, 1st West), Rapids: 5-4-4 (19 points, 8th West)
FORM GUIDE (most recent first): Seattle: LWWWL, Colorado: WWLWD
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 18-6-2 against the Rapids, including an 11-2-1 mark at home.
PREVIOUS MEETING: Seattle fell 2-0 at Colorado last September behind goals on either side of halftime by forward Andre Shinyashiki. Of note, the Sounders had 10 players missing on international duty.
MISSING INTERNATIONALS: The Sounders will be without forward Raúl RuidÃaz (Peru), midfielder Gustav Svensson (Sweden) and defender Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador) for the third straight match. RuidÃaz and Arreaga are competing in CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualifying while Svensson is participating in UEFA Nations League matches.
BALL CONTROL: Nicolás Lodeiro and João Paulo continue to boss the midfield, as they are No. 2 and 3, respectively, in Major League Soccer in touches per 90 minutes. João’s Paulo’s arrival has completely unlocked Lodeiro. It has allowed him to play freely farther up the pitch, which has led to five goals and eight assists in just 1200-plus minutes this season for the Uruguayan captain.
OFFENSE STILL CLICKING: Despite an uncharacteristic outing in Los Angeles over the weekend, one in which the Sounders created chances but couldn’t capitalize, Seattle has still scored in 12 of its last 13 matches and is routinely finding different ways to put the ball in the back of the net. Lodeiro’s free kick golazo against LAFC was the 12th goal off set pieces the Sounders have scored this season, more than any other team in MLS.
SMITH STARTS: Left back Brad Smith made his first start on Sunday since re-signing with the Sounders in mid-September and his first start since 2019 MLS Cup. He played just shy of an hour before being replaced by Nouhou.
LONG LAYOFF: The Rapids have only played 13 matches this season, the fewest in MLS and two fewer than anyone else. Colorado hasn’t played since Sept. 23 due to several positive COVID-19 tests within the organization.
HOMEGROWN HEROES: The Rapids have been led this season by two young Homegrown players in Cole Bassett and Sam Vines. Bassett, 19, has four goals and four assists, and has staked his claim as one of MLS’ best talents under 20. Vines, 21, has started and gone the full distance at left back in every Rapids match this season.
NEW AMERICAN GOALKEEPER: Following Tim Howard’s retirement at the end of the 2019 season, the Rapids signed former American international William Yarbrough on loan from Liga MX’s Club Leon. Yarbrough has allowed 12 goals and made 29 saves in nine matches this year.
