For much of the season, the Seattle Sounders took us on a highly enjoyable ride. From the 13-match unbeaten run to start the year to multiple nine-point weeks to the run to the Leagues Cup final and then lifting the Cascadia Cup for a third straight time, it has been mostly good.

Unfortunately, the last six games have not been quite as fun. The Sounders went into the playoffs on a six-game winless run, not necessarily playing poorly but definitely not up to the standard they’d set throughout the year.

Now they have a chance to put that all behind them. Coming off an 16-day break, the Sounders will face Real Salt Lake in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs tonight. RSL has been a highly unpredictable side this year. At their best, they score goals in bunches. At their worst, they concede at an even more alarming rate. In their last game, they changed formations into a defense-first 4-2-3-1 but have mostly used an atypical 3-5-2 that puts attacking players in the wingbacks positions under Pablo Mastroeni.

The Sounders should rightly feel like the favorites, but could very easily have their hands full.

Notes

• The Sounders have won 15 straight home playoff games, easily the longest postseason winning streak in MLS history. Only two other teams even had 10-game streaks, and the last of those ended in 2001.
• Raúl Ruidíaz has nine goals and six assists in 10 playoff games. With one more playoff goal, he’ll rank among the top 9 playoff scorers in MLS history. None of the others in the current Top 8 have fewer than 21 appearances.
• The Sounders have qualified for the conference semifinals in each of the 12 previous seasons and won at least one playoff game in each of the past eight years. Only Sporting KC has an active streak of even two years in either category.
• Brian Schmetzer’s playoff record is 15-4-2, good for a .762 winning percentage. Bruce Arena (.702) is the only other head coach in MLS history that is even over .650.
• This is the fourth all-time playoff encounter between the Sounders and RSL. RSL won the first meeting — prevailing 3-2 on aggregate — but the Sounders have won the last two meetings, including a 2-0 win in the 2019 playoffs.
• Fredy Montero’s 68 all-competition goals is a Sounders franchise record, but he has yet to score a playoff goal in Rave Green. He did score a playoff goal for the Whitecaps against the Sounders in 2017, however.

Absences: Injury, international duty and suspension

Seattle

QUESTIONABLE: Medranda (L quad strain)

OUT: Bruin (R knee surgery); Delem (R ACL tear); Nouhou (Health and safety protocols)

RSL

OUT: Farnsworth (knee)

Officials

REFEREE: Joseph Dickerson; AR1 (bench): Logan Brown; AR2 (opposite): Chris Elliott; 4th: Victor Rivas; VAR: Timothy Ford; AVAR: Jeremy Kieso

How to Watch

Match date/kickoff time: Tuesday, 7:38 PM PST

Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle

Online Streaming: Fubo TV (affiliate link)

National Radio: SiriusXMFC

National English TV: FS1 (John Strong & Stu Holden)

Local Radio: 950/1090 KJR-AM Seattle (Costigan, Keller)

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

National Spanish TV: Fox Deportes

International TV

Brazil: DAZN (Brazil)

China: China Sports Media

Czech Republic & Slovakia: Nova Sports (Czech Republic)

Georgia: Silk Sport

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain: DAZN (Europe)

India: Eurosport

Israel: Charlton

Latin America (excl. Brazil): ESPN Latin America

Middle East & North Africa: Abu Dhabi Sports

Netherlands: ESPN Netherlands

Norway: VG+

Southeast Asia & Oceania: beIN Sports

Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN Africa

Sweden: C-More

Taiwan: Sportcast

Ukraine: Football 1

United Kingdom & Ireland: Sky Sports/Free Sports

Lineups

Highlights will be posted as the match progresses.

This is Seattle Sounders vs. RSL; watch with us

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