Seattle Sounders FC vs. Philadelphia Union | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Philadelphia Union
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 30
CenturyLink Field — Seattle
Sept. 19 — 11 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

Fresh off capturing the Cascadia Cup, the red-hot Seattle Sounders put a nine-match winning streak on the line when they take on the Philadelphia Union Wednesday night at CenturyLink Field.

The Sounders are coming off a 2-1 road win over the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday and can move even on points with third-place LAFC with a 10th straight victory, while the Union had a five-match unbeaten streak snapped with a 4-1 home defeat to the Montreal Impact.

This will be the 11th meeting between the two teams. The Union have won two of the last three league encounters (1L), having only won two of the first seven (3L-2D), per Opta.

Seattle Sounders FC

Seattle (13-9-5) extended a winning streak to nine games and an unbeaten run to 12 games with a 2-1 win over the rival Whitecaps at BC Place Saturday night.

Raul Ruidiaz opened the scoring in the 21st minute and had his brace three minutes before the break. Kei Kamara pulled the Caps back a goal with a header deep into first-half stoppage time and nearly leveled after halftime, but the frenetic match had no second-half goals as the Sounders captured the Cascadia Cup with one match left in the annual Pacific Northwest series.

“Nine wins in a row is impressive. We understand it’s pro sports, the streak is going to come to an end at some point. We just didn’t want it to happen tonight,” Brian Schmetzer said. “We wanted to make sure that, look if it started off a little rocky, don’t panic. We’re a good team, it’s going to come back to you guys. It’s like riding a bike, you guys will jump back on and things will start clicking again.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: D - Jordy Delem
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: F - Jordan Morris (torn ACL), F - Felix Chenkam (herniated disc)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Stefan Frei — Kelvin Leerdam, Kim Kee-hee, Chad Marshall, Brad Smith — Gustav Svensson, Osvaldo Alonso — Cristian Roldan, Nico Lodeiro, Harry Shipp — Raul Ruidiaz

Notes: In 759+ minutes with Ruidíaz on the field this year, Seattle averages 2.3 goals per 90 minutes. In 1,858+ minutes without him this year, that number drops down to 0.9 goals per 90. … The Sounders have won an MLS-record nine consecutive games, five of which have come by a one-goal margin.

Philadelphia Union

Philadelphia (12-12-4) saw a one-goal lead and a five-match unbeaten streak evaporate Saturday night when the Impact scored four unanswered goals in a 4-1 win at Talen Energy Stadium. It was the Union’s first home loss since a 3-1 defeat to the LA Galaxy on July 21.

Auston Trusty scored his first MLS goal in the 11th minute, but Alejandro Silva leveled before the half hour mark and Saphir Taider gave the visitors the lead at the break. Quincy Amarikwa and Silva added second-half insurance goals as the Impact moved to within one point of fifth-place Philadelphia.

“All of the stakes are high,” Jim Curtin said. “I think every result matters in a big way. You see how tight the table is in the Eastern Conference. You see how quickly things may change, how quickly a big road win can go for a team. We were the team that was doing that a couple weeks back.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: D - Jack Elliott
International duty: None
Injury Report: None

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Andre Blake — Keegan Rosenberry, Jack Elliott, Auston Trusty, Raymon Gaddis — Haris Medunjanin, Alejandro Bedoya — CJ Sapong, Borek Dockal, Fafa Picault — Cory Burke

Notes: The Union have conceded seven penalty goals this year, tied for the third most of any team in MLS. … The Union have scored in six straight league matches (4W-1L-1D), their longest streak since scoring in eight straight in 2016.

All-Time Series

Overall: Seattle Sounders FC 4 wins, 11 goals … Philadelphia Union 4 wins, 13 goals … 2 draws
At Seattle: Sounders FC 4 wins, 7 goals … Union 1 win, 4 goals … 0 draws
Last meeting at Seattle: Seattle Sounders FC 2, Philadelphia Union 1 (April 16, 2016)