The Seattle Sounders will make their Sunday Night Soccer debut when they host Minnesota United this afternoon. The Sounders come into the match having gone 6-1-2 in their past nine, while the Loons are 5-1-2 in their past eight. Both teams are coming off midweek games, with the Sounders beating San Diego FC 1-0 and Minnesota scratching out a 0-0 tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Here’s what you need to know:

Injury news

Sounders

OUT: Paul Arriola - Knee; Yeimar Gómez Andrade - Hamstring; Kim Kee-hee - Calf; Jordan Morris - Hamstring

QUESTIONABLE: Jackson Ragen - Hamstring

Minnesota United FC

OUT: Kipp Keller - Leg

Opposition players to watch

Tani Oluwaseyi: With Kelvin Yeboah in a bit of a scoring slump, it's been Oluwaseyi who has mostly picked up the slack. He's been absolutely deadly in the open field and now has six goals and four assists, while also being helpful on the defensive side.
Joaquin Pereyra: The midfielder has hit his stride in his second year since joining Minnesota and has developed into their top playmaker with two goals and five assists.

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Stats to look smart

10: The Sounders have won all 10 of their meetings against Minnesota United at Lumen Field, which includes eight wins in the regular season. The Sounders have outscored the Loons 22-5 in those games.

4: Minnesota United has scored four goals off of throw-ins, which leads the league. The Sounders will have to be particularly aware anytime Minnesota has a throw-in in the attacking third.

Tactics to impress

It's not just that Minnesota United tends to lose the possession battle, it's that they are on pace to have the least amount of possession for as long as MLS records go back. At 38.4 percent average possession, they are effectively completing about 50 to 60 fewer passes than any other team in the league's database. Suffice it to say, they are constantly looking for counter-attacking opportunities and have been absolutely deadly in the open field.
The Sounders remain a bit short-handed and will be missing two of their top centerbacks in addition to other longer term injuries. One line of thinking is that the Sounders will need to pack defenders, but they may also elect to just try to keep the ball out of their defensive third.