Seattle Sounders FC preview vs New England Revolution

By Money Mike



The Seattle Sounders kick off the month of October on the East Coast. After traveling a long ways from Guatemala City, the Sounders are now set to do battle in Foxborough as they take on the New England Revolution. The Sounders already clinched a playoff spot last weekend and are now in the drivers seat to clinch home field advantage in the MLS Cup Quarterfinals as they are three points ahead of Real Salt Lake who have suffered a couple of embarrasing defeats, most recently at home, losing 3-0 to the Chicago Fire. I think the priorities for the Sounders are to just keep your starters healthy for the U.S. Open Cup final on Tuesday, maybe rest a couple of key players. You always want your best team out there for a Cup final match. So for this game, health is more important than winning this match.


Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - OK, when I say you gotta keep your players healthy, this is not what I mean by it. Even though there's one of the players I don't give a shit about. Terry Boss has a concussion, Zakuani has a broken leg and Mike Seamon has a lateral ankle tendon problem. All of them are out for the rest of the season. O'Brian White, we still don't know for sure whether or not he'll be back this season. He's had two blood clot surgeries on his leg. Mauro Rosales has a right knee MCL sprain and is listed as questionable. In fact, there's a chance they'll get him back for the Open Cup final. James Riley is also listed as questionable with a concussion. I don't want to see him on the pitch Saturday night, rest him. Pat Noonan has an adductor strain and is listed as probable, but who cares, he's not gonna play.

New England Revolution - For the Revs. Rajko Lekic has a sprained left ankle and he is out. Stephen McCarthy is out for the season after having surgery on his left shoulder. Sainey Nyassi, who scored against us in our first meeting with New England back in June, has a strained right hamstring and he is out. A.J. Soares has a left adductor strain and is listed as probable. Lastly, Monsef Zerka is listed as probable as he's dealing with a strained left quad.


Suspensions:

Seattle Sounders FC - NONE

New England Revolution - Franco Coria is suspended for this match after Caution accumulation.


What to keep our eyes on in this game:

I think what we need to focus on is the lineup Sigi Schmid will put out. The Sounders have played so many matches these past couple of months and I think he needs to rest his big time players for this game. Fredy Montero, Ozzie Alonso, Lamar Neagle, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. I think those guys should be either on the bench or left out so they can take some time to refresh and get ready for the U.S. Open Cup final in Seattle on Tuesday, which I will be attending. I want to see guys like Michael Tetteh, David Estrada and Amadou Sanyang on the pitch this weekend. We'll see what Sigi has planned out, but the key players I meantioned, I don't want to see on the field.