The Seattle Sounders are hoping to end a two-match losing run when they host Dallas from Lumen Field on Wednesday.
Seattle have lost three of their last four fixtures, falling 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, while Dallas did the Sounders a big favour by beating Sporting Kansas City 2-1.
Match preview
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Just a few weeks ago, the Rave Green looked almost unbeatable, recording the best start to a season in MLS history, but lately, it seems that other teams have found their weakness.
Not only have the Sounders lost consecutive matches at home and three of their last four regular-season games, but they are losing ground in the race for the Supporters' Shield, currently sitting four points behind the New England Revolution.
The reigning Western Conference champions, considered one of the most potent offensive units in the league, have struggled lately, scoring only once over their last two fixtures.
It is not like they have played poorly on their current slide, in fact they have fired more shots on target than their opponents in each of their three defeats this year, but they only have one goal to show for those 13 targeted shots over those three games.
The good news for Brian Schmetzer is that the Gold Cup is over, and some players are getting healthier, so there is hope that this current slide may only be a temporary hiccup.
If they want to remain in first in the west, they will have to get back to winning ways in a hurry as they are only two points ahead of KC for first in the west, while only five points separate them from the fourth-place Colorado Rapids.
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Dallas are riding high at the moment, and incredibly, they are right back in the thick of the playoff race after stringing together consecutive victories for the first time this year, currently only four points back of Real Salt Lake for that final playoff berth.
Not only has Luchi Gonzalez seen his team come to life, but they have beaten some of the strongest teams that MLS have to offer, blanking the Los Angeles Galaxy 4-0 and hanging on to beat Sporting KC last weekend.
When they can find the mark early, they are a tough team to beat, scoring in the opening 15 minutes in each of their four wins this season, including taking the lead on Saturday after only three minutes of play.
Dallas will be feeling a lot better about their game away from home after finally capturing their first road victory of the season last week, not to mention the fact that it was against a team in the Wizards, who were unbeaten in 11 consecutive fixtures at Children's Mercy Park.
The Toros have an opportunity to put an end to another lengthy streak on Wednesday, as a victory against the top team in the Western Conference would end a nine-game losing run for them at Lumen Field.
If they can earn another three points on Wednesday, they will be feeling very confident about moving into the top seven in the conference with their next three games at Toyota Stadium, where they have yet to lose this year.
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Team News
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Cristian Roldan should be available following the end of the Gold Cup, while Will Bruin came on for Kelyn Rowe with less than 10 minutes to play versus the Quakes after missing several weeks with a right knee injury.
Jordy Delem is out with a right ACL tear, Jordan Morris has an ACL injury, Stefan Frei is struggling with a left knee sprain/blood clot, Nouhou Tolo has a left abductor strain, Nicolas Lodeiro is recovering from right knee surgery, Brad Smith is out with a left abductor strain and Abdoulaye Cissoko has right patella tendinitis.
Reed Baker-Whiting made his third consecutive appearance for Seattle against San Jose, as the 16-year-old local product played the first 55 minutes of their last match before being replaced by veteran Fredy Montero.
Dallas could be missing Beni Redzic due to an ankle sprain, while Justin Che has a lower leg injury and Andres Ricaurte is eligible to return after missing their match versus the Wizards with a yellow card suspension.
Paxton Pomykal and Jesus Ferreira both notched their first goals of the season in the victory last weekend, while goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer made three saves for his second successive victory.
Matt Hedges made his first appearance last week since May 23, Ema Twumasi made just his second start of the year against KC and Edwin Cerrillo replaced the suspended Andres Ricaurte in midfield.
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Cleveland; A. Roldan, Gomez, Arreaga, O'Neill, Medranda; Rowe, Paulo, Bruin, C. Roldan; Ruidiaz
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Maurer; Hollingshead, Bressan, Hedges, Nelson; Quignon, Cerrillo; Obrian, Ferreira, Pomykal; Pepi
We say: Seattle Sounders 1-0 Dallas
Seattle have not lost three straight regular-season fixtures since 2019, and even with all of their regulars who are missing, they have still had plenty of chances to score, and luckily for them, they are playing a Toros team who have conceded 16 goals on the road this season.
Dallas have been held off the scoresheet on five occasions this year away from home, and when visiting Seattle, they have been blanked five times and have been outscored by the Sounders 14-1 in their last five trips to Lumen Field.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Seattle Sounders win with a probability of 64.5%. A draw had a probability of 20.8% and a win for Dallas had a probability of 14.67%.
The most likely scoreline for a Seattle Sounders win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.99%) and 2-1 (9.76%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.9%), while for a Dallas win it was 0-1 (5.02%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood.
