SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Three things to watch in Sounders vs Sporting KC

Jul 22, 2016, 3:37 PM

Jordan Morris and the Sounders lost 1-0 to Sporting Kansas City in the teams' previous meeting this...

Jordan Morris and the Sounders lost 1-0 to Sporting Kansas City in the teams' previous meeting this season. (AP)

(AP)

Fresh off their loss in Los Angeles that eliminated them from the 2016 US Open Cup, the Sounders play Sporting KC on Sunday in a bid to crawl their way back up the standings. Most starting players were rested against the Galaxy – hence the loss – so the Sounders will probably have a pretty full-strength squad to choose from except for Osvaldo Alonso, who is suspended for the match. The Sounders’ most recent league loss was last Sunday’s 3-1 decimation by the Portland Timbers, so they’ll be hoping to forget that with a decisive win in Kansas City.

Since beating the Sounders 1-0 on opening day, Sporting KC have had a pretty mixed season. It currently sits just below the playoff line in seventh place, with an 8-10-4 record and 28 points. That’s eight points more than the Sounders have right now, though both teams are having a relatively bad run of form right now.

Watch for these three things in what is certainly a must-win Western Conference match for Seattle on Sunday at noon on 97.3 KIRO Radio FM.

1. Losing Alonso will hurt Seattle.

One of just three players left from the Sounders’ inaugural season, Alonso is having himself a vintage year with the club. He’s settled into a more central defensive role over the past year or so, and he’s been Seattle’s best player in a majority of the matches he’s played in 2016. Through 19 appearances, he has the highest percentage of completed passes in all of Major League Soccer (91.2 percent). Even more impressive is that Alonso is second in the league for average passes per game (70.5). A number of the Sounders’ losses this season have been games in which they played quite well but couldn’t get a result. Alonso has been a big part of that. Cristian Roldan has improved a ton this year because he’s played next to Alonso, and while he should do well against KC, not having the veteran next to him is going to make it much more difficult.

2. Kansas City is … hot.

Seattle has been remarkably cool so far this summer, and the Sounders have only traveled to a handful of hot cities since summer started. It could get over 100 degrees on Sunday, quite different from the 65-70 degree temperatures we’ve been used to seeing at Starfire this summer. The Sounders will be putting out a fairly rested squad since Wednesday’s lineup saw mostly backups and youth players. But heat like that can make games much more of a slog, especially considering how much players run during them. Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said that the key will be slowing down the game and maintaining possession: “We have to manage the game a bit differently than we normally manage a game.”

3. Sporting are potentially missing a handful of players.

A few of Kansas City’s players are listed as officially “questionable” by the league, but KC are looking pretty slim at a few areas of the pitch. Center back Matt Besler, who represented the United States at the Copa America, is officially out with a knee injury. He hasn’t played a ton lately, but losing a veteran presence at the back (or at least off the bench) is a big deal. It doesn’t help that Nuno Coelho, KC’s other top center back, is also out with a hamstring injury. Midfielders Brad Davis and Graham Zusi are also facing injury setbacks and could miss the match as well. Either way, Sporting will likely be lining up with two backups in central defense. Jordan Morris, Clint Dempsey and the Sounders’ attack will be looking to exploit this weakness as much as possible.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.

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Three things to watch in Sounders vs Sporting KC