FULLTIME: The Sounders scored probably their most impressive win since the Concacaf Champions League final, beating Austin FC 3-0 on Saturday. Raúl Ruidíaz provided a first-half brace, Jordan Morris had two assists and they closed out the scoring with an own-goal. The Sounders now sit three points out of a playoff spot pending the rest of the weekend’s results.

SOUNDERS 3, AUSTIN FC 0: The Sounders added a third goal when Nicolás Lodeiro’s free kick bounced off the back of Ruben Gabrielsen.

SOUNDERS 2, AUSTIN FC 0: Raúl Ruidíaz added a second goal, effectively tapping in a cross from Jordan Morris to finish off a beautiful attacking sequence.

SOUNDERS 1, AUSTIN FC 0: Raúl Ruidíaz got the Sounders off to a good start, putting away a feed from Nicolas Lodeiro in the 12th minute. Jordan Morris picked up a secondary assist with a nice cross to Lodeiro.

LINEUPS: The Sounders will run back the lineup that beat the Houston Dynamo last week, while Austin FC are missing Sebastian Driussi due to a leg injury.

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The Seattle Sounders’ playoff hopes are hanging by a thread, with the team sitting six points out of the seventh spot in the Western Conference with five games left to go. That leaves very little room for error, especially in their three remaining home games.

Austin FC undoubtedly poses Seattle’s biggest challenge. The second-year club currently sits second in the West, has a goal-difference of +18 and actually has more road points (26) than home points (25).

Just how dangerous they are will be influenced by the availability of Sebastian Driussi, who is nursing a knee injury that Josh Wolff might be tempted to rest on artificial turf. But even without Driussi, Austin has some potent attackers like Maxi Urruti (nine goals) and Diego Fagundez (six goals, 11 assists).

The Sounders do catch Austin at a potentially opportune time, though, as they’ve lost two straight and have allowed 18 goals in their past eight matches.

Notes

• The Sounders snapped a five-game winless skid last week when they beat the Houston Dynamo, 2-1.
• The Sounders have not posted a shutout since Aug. 2.
• The Sounders have an all-time record of 1-0-2 against Austin FC. They tied their previous meeting this year, 1-1, and settled for a scoreless draw in their only other match at Lumen Field.

Absences: Injury, international duty and suspension

Seattle

OUT: João Paulo (R ACL tear); Cristian Roldan (groin surgery); Andrew Thomas (lower back stress fracture); Obed Vargas (lower back stress fracture)

Austin

OUT: Freddy Kleemann (L knee)

QUESTIONABLE: Sebastian Driussi (R knee)

Officials

REF: Marcos Deoliveira; AR1: Micheal Barwegen; AR2: Jose da Silva; 4TH: Katja Koroleva; VAR: Ted Unkel; AVAR: Peter Balciunas

How to Watch

Match date/kickoff time: Saturday, 5:08 PM PT

Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle

Online Streaming: Amazon Prime (affiliate link, in-market), ESPN+ (affiliate link, out of market)

Local English TV: Fox13+ (Costigan, Keller, Zakuani)

Local Radio: 950 KJR-AM Seattle, iHeartMedia (Costigan, Keller, Zakuani)

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

Local Spanish TV: KUNS-TV Univision-Seattle (Jamie Mendez & Diego Arrioja)

International TV:

Brazil: DAZN (Brazil)

Czech Republic & Slovakia: Nova Sport (Czech Republic)

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

Latin America: ESPN Latin America

Middle East & North Africa: Abu Dhabi Sports

Netherlands: ESPN Netherlands

Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN Africa

Sweden: C-More

Ukraine: Football 1

United Kingdom & Ireland: Free Sports

Lineups

Highlights will be posted as the match progresses.

This is Seattle Sounders vs. Austin FC; watch with us

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