Dallas hope to shake off their midweek US Open Cup exit as they travel to Seattle Sounders for gameweek 15’s MLS encounter at Lumen Field.
The Sounders are winless in two matches as they enter their game against the Dallas-based team, who have drawn blanks in two of their last three league fixtures, suffering defeats in those losses
Match preview
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Just when Brian Schmetzer thought his Sounders had found form after a slow start to the season, earning one point from games against Los Angeles FC and Portland Timbers has brought the Rave Green back down to earth.
The Sounders won once in their opening seven MLS games of 2025 — a 5-2 success over LAFC in March — before accumulating 13 points from the next five matches, scoring three or more in three of their four victories against Nashville (3-0), St Louis City (4-1) and Houston Dynamo (3-1).
However, that success against Houston was followed by a 4-0 thrashing against LAFC and a draw with the Timbers.
The upshot of a mixed start this year leaves the Sounders sixth in the Western Conference on 20 points, entering this weekend’s 15th round at risk of slipping out of the crucial top-seven places, though they are guaranteed to end the weekend in eighth or ninth place as Houston Dynamo in 10th are four points adrift of Schmetzer’s team.
Previous results against this weekend’s visitors should bolster the home side’s motivation for the 15th round, as the Sounders have claimed three wins in the past four encounters, including a 1-0 victory in last month’s fixture in Dallas.
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That home defeat to Seattle Sounders ended Dallas’ three-match unbeaten run, and Eric Quill‘s team have only managed one win since, a 4-3 triumph over out-of-form Inter Miami.
Since defeating last year’s Supporters Shield winners, Los Toros have fallen to two MLS losses against San Diego (5-0) and the Dynamo (2-0), either side of a 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake.
Adding to the disappointment in Dallas was Wednesday night’s elimination in the US Open Cup round of 16 by the New York Red Bulls on penalties, after playing 120 minutes.
Thus, it will be intriguing to see how much Quill’s team have left in the tank after their midweek exertions, as they attempt to recover from recent MLS and domestic cup setbacks.
May 4’s drubbing at San Diego marked their first away defeat of the season, highlighting their overall competence on the road aside from that setback, but the 11th-placed team in the Western aim to rectify those mistakes on Saturday.
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Team News
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The Sounders are without Paul Arriola, who is nursing a knee issue, as well as Jordan Morris and Jackson Ragen, both absent due to hamstring injuries.
Though Albert Rusnak leads the goalscoring charts for the hosts with six strikes, four of Danny Musovski‘s five goals have been match-opening efforts, underscoring the importance of the attacker, who scored the only goal when the Seattle-based club secured a 1-0 victory over this weekend’s opponents last month.
While Maarten Paes returned on Wednesday after recovering from illness, Enzo Newman (knee), Sebastian Lletget (leg), Geovane Jesus (knee) and Leo Chu (knee) are expected to miss out.
Although no player on the away side has scored as many as the Sounders’ leading marksman, Luciano Acosta, Petar Musa and Anderson Julio have all netted three each for the Bulls, making them potential match-winners for Quill’s team.
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; A. Roldan, Andrade, Kim, Tolo; C. Roldan, Vargas; Ferreira, Rusnak, Kent; Musovski
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Moore, Abubakar, Urhoghide, Norris; Kaick, Ramiro; Julio, Acosta, Kamungo; Musa
We say: Seattle Sounders 2-0 Dallas
Not only do Seattle have recent history on their side, but the Sounders benefit from not having played midweek, unlike their opponents, who went 120 minutes in their US Open Cup loss in New York.
Therefore, we anticipate a fatigued away side to struggle with the quick turnaround during Saturday’s visit to Lumen Field.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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