FULL-TIME: In what might be their best performance of the season, the Sounders scored a thorough 2-1 win over Atlanta United on Sunday. The Sounders out shot Atlanta 18-11 and had the bulk of the game’s chances. Raúl Ruidíaz and Harry Shipp scored for the Sounders, who jumped into second place in the Western Conference.

SOUNDERS 2, UNITED 1: After failing to convert on several quality chances earlier in the match, Harry Shipp finally came good in the 72nd minute when he headed in a perfect feed from Jordan Morris.

SOUNDERS 1, UNITED 1: Josef Martinez equalized on a header from a Pity Martinez corner kick in the 65th minute.

SOUNDERS 1, UNITED 0: Raul Ruidiaz gave the Sounders the lead in the 58th minute on a bit of magical play when he controlled Cristian Roldan pass and then rainbowed Miles Robinson before roofing a shot from about 8 yards out.

HALFTIME: The Sounders had several very good chances to take an early lead but were undone by some poor finishing and bad luck. Kim Kee-hee, Cristian Roldan and Harry Shipp all had good looks on goal from close range but none of the Sounders’ 10 first-half shots found the goal.

LINEUPS: The Sounders and Atlanta United will both be using lineups that are about as close to first-choice as either side can currently muster. The Sounders’ lineup features five changes from last week’s win, but virtually all of them are upgrades. Most notable among the additions are Raúl Ruidíaz, Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan, all of whom are back from international duty. Atlanta will use a lineup that is basically unchanged from their previous two games in the past week with Julian Gressel in for Emerson Hyndman from the midweek affair.

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Today’s the day. The Seattle Sounders are hosting reigning MLS Cup champs Atlanta United. It is being billed by national media outlets as “The Big One” and fans should expect the same. Last year’s matchup between these two teams resulted in Atlanta fans having a mental breakdown because a team dared to play defense against them. What does this year’s matchup have in store?

Absences: Injury, international duty and suspension

Seattle:

Out: Will Bruin (torn ACL), Victor Rodriguez (hamstring)

Questionable: N/A

Suspensions: N/A

International Duty: N/A

Atlanta:

Out: George Bello (right adductor injury), Ezequiel Barco (knee sprain), Hector Villalba (knee injury), Kevin Kratz (calf injury)

Questionable: Florentin Pogba (hamstring injury)

Suspensions: Jeff Larentowicz

International Duty: N/A

Match Officials

REFEREE: Robert Sibiga

AR1: Nick Uranga

AR2: Eduardo Mariscal

4th: Joe Dickerson

VAR: Ricardo Salazar

AVAR: Joshua Patlak

Keys to the Game:

• The dog days of summer should be over for the Sounders. Other than at one or two positions, the Sounders should be able to put out a first choice starting XI for the first time since the end of April.
• Atlanta United aren’t the same team they were last year. Thousands of words could be poured out here explaining why, but I’ll sum it up with the two obvious differences: Frank de Boer and Pity Martinez are not Tata Martino and Miguel Almiron. Their new head coach and expensive DP haven’t necessarily seen eye-to-eye, and it’s shown on the field.
• One thing hasn’t changed about Atlanta, though — Josef Martinez. With 12 goals on the season so far, he’s carrying the team offensively. Shut him down and the Sounders have a chance to win this one.

How to Watch

Match date/time: July 14th at 12:55 PM PT

Venue: CenturyLink Field, Seattle

Online Streaming: YouTube TV, ESPN+ (affiliate link, out of market), Fubo TV (affiliate link)

National English TV: ESPN

Local Radio: 950 KJR-AM Seattle (Johnson, Webber)

Local Spanish Radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Rodriguez, Maqueda, Tapia)

Lineups

Highlights will be posted as the match progresses.

This is Seattle Sounders vs Atlanta United; watch with us

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