The rivalry between the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers dates back to 1975. That’s when Portland followed Seattle into the world of professional soccer. This will be the 125th time the two teams have met across leagues and competitions, with the Sounders holding a 58–47–19 edge.

This meeting comes on the heels of the longest planned midseason break in MLS history, with neither team having played in about seven weeks.

The Timbers have mostly struggled this year and even fired head coach Phil Neville in their penultimate game before the break. Timbers 2 head coach Jack Cassidy has been serving as the interim coach since then.

The Sounders got off to one of their best starts ever, but have won just 1 of their last 5 games. That includes consecutive losses heading into the break.

Notes

Jimmy Gabriel, Sigi Schmid and Kasey Keller will be formally inducted into the Eternal Sounders Circle of Legends during a special pregame ceremony.
Cristian Roldan will be honored at halftime for being part of the USA’s World Cup roster.
Brian Schmetzer is two wins away from becoming just the ninth head coach in MLS history with 150 career wins.

Absences: Injury, international duty and suspension

Sounders

OUT: Yeimar Gómez Andrade — Hamstring; Pedro de la Vega — Knee; Kim Kee-hee — Hamstring; Nikola Petković — Knee; Alex Roldan — Hip; Cristian Roldan — Quad

QUESTIONABLE: Ryan Sailor — Hamstring