Despite undergoing their most tumultuous season ever, the Seattle Sounders are in the Western Conference final and could make it to the MLS Cup final for the first time in their history. New head coach Brian Schmetzer and star player Nicolás Lodeiro have proven to be just what the Sounders needed to get back on track. On Tuesday, they host the Colorado Rapids, who have been the big surprise package of the season so far.
Sounders vs. Rapids 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
Injuries will have a major effect on the Western Conference finals.
Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
Rapids boss Pablo Mastroeni’s competence was called into question after a truly disastrous 2015 campaign, but he’s righted the ship completely, with the help of some smart signings. They were in the Supporters’ Shield race until the very end of the season and defended well to get past the star-studded LA Galaxy in the last round.
The Rapids won both regular season meetings between these two teams, but neither has much bearing on this game. They happened in April and May, when the Sounders were a much different team. Figuring out how these sides match up now is a bit of a guessing game.
TV: FS1 (U.S. -- English), Fox Deportes (U.S. -- Spanish)
Online: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer 2 Go
Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET
Venue: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Wash.
Make friends: Check out Seattle Sounders blog Sounder at Heart and Colorado Rapids blog Burgundy Wave, where you can hang out with other fans.
Three big things to know
- Who has better depth? Both teams have suffered big injury blows recently, and will be counting on bench players to step up. Seattle starters Jordan Morris and Roman Torres are both late decisions for the game, but might not be 100 percent even if they play. The same goes for Colorado’s Shkelzen Gashi, while Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard is definitely out for the rest of the playoffs. How well backups play could be the decisive factor in this tie.
- Nicolás Lodeiro has proven to be unstoppable so far. Every time a Sounders opponent has tried to alter their game plan specifically to deny touches and space to Lodeiro, they’ve failed miserably. At the moment, he’s the best player in the league. The key to this game for Colorado is likely not what they do to contain Lodeiro, but what they do to make life hard for everyone else.
- Does Pablo Mastroeni go for pace or technique? Colorado’s attacking options are all a bit different. Dominique Badji and Marlon Hairston are two of the fastest players on the team, while Kevin Doyle and Marco Pappa offer more ball retention. The players in Mastroeni’s starting lineup should tell you a lot about his strategy.
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