Opposition scouting report: Austin FC

The Seattle Sounders will play Austin FC for the second time this season on Sunday. The Sounders won the previous meeting 2-0, their first match back from the Club World Cup. Since then, Austin has gone 5-2-4 across all competitions and advanced to the U.S. Open Cup finals. We caught up with Phil West of Verde All Day to find out more:

Notable injuries

No significant injuries to speak of, other than the Brandon Vázquez season-ending knee injury that happened earlier this summer. But Austin is going to have some players gassed after playing 120 minutes on Wednesday en route to securing its first final ever — in the U.S. Open Cup on Oct. 1 against Nashville — after beating Minnesota 2-1 on Wednesday, something that fans might be obnoxious about for a while, so just bear with us.

Team form

They are 7-3-4 in their last 14 matches across all competitions, which includes a 6-3-3 record in league play. Although still confouningly prone to a clunker once every few matches — witness last weekend's 2-0 loss to Dallas, a 3-2 loss to Montréal three weeks prior, and a 2-0 loss on June 28 to, oh, hey, the Sounders.

Key players

Owen Wolff has been phenomenal this season, and has goal contributions galore in this phase of the season to speak to the player he’s becoming. By this time next year, Wolff will be the linchpin not-quite-10 in an improved Austin team or will be in Europe thanks to an irresistible dumptruck full of money driven to Rodolfo Borrell’s house.

Also, Osman Bukari is cementing his status this year as one of the most fun players in the league. Fans of five-holing goalkeepers and brazenly taking on three defenders at once and somehow winning should take notice.

One thing opposing fans should know

Did you know we’re hosting the U.S. Open Cup final in less than two weeks? Yes, Austin fans will be insufferable about it, but it’s the first final in the team’s five-year history, and in a season where league play has shown them to have glimmers of hope yet remaining resolutely mid, it’s something that players, coaches, and fans are reveling in. There could be a hangover effect in play for one of just three remaining home matches for Verde (including a rescheduled match against LAFC).