Everything you need to know about Sounders-Chicago Fire

The Seattle Sounders will be looking to continue the momentum they built over the past week when they face the Chicago Fire today. The Sounders come into today's game having just ended an eight-game league losing streak, but still haven’t won in nine league games. The Fire, meanwhile, come into this game having gone 6–1–1 in August.

Here’s what you need to know:

Injury news

Sounders

OUT: Pedro de la Vega — Quad; Jesús Ferreira — Hamstring; Yeimar Gómez Andrade — Calf; Peter Kingston — Suspended; Nikola Petković — Knee; Jackson Ragen — Knee

QUESTIONABLE: Paul Arriola — Calf

Fire

OUT: André Franco — Lower Body; Mbekezeli Mbokazi — Lower Body; Chris Mueller — Not Due to Injury

Opposition players to watch

Robert Lewandowski: The legend has gotten off to a somewhat uneven start, with a respectable but not necessarily eye-popping four goals in his first 10 games. But don’t let that diminish how dangerous he can be, even if he’s not scoring goals. Lewandowksi brings a class in multiple facets of the game.

Puso Dithejane: Although he’s not necessarily the biggest name, Dithejane only has two starts and 14 appearances but has made a big impression for his skill on the ball. He was particularly impressive against Cruz Azul in Leagues Cup, with a brace.

Stats to look smart

9 – The Fire are winless in nine previous trip to Lumen Field, going 0–7–2. That includes a loss in the 2011 U.S. Open Cup final. The last time they got a point at Lumen was 2018.

-.78 – After starting out the year as one of the league's largest over-performers in terms of xPoints, the Sounders are now almost exactly even with what the advanced stats suggest they "should" have.

Tactics to impress

Gregg Berhalter has effectively instituted a dynamic attack that relies heavily on positional switching and overlaps. They mostly start from a 4–3–3 but defenders must be aware of runs coming from all parts of the field.
A week after seeing some success in the 3–4–2–1, the Sounders will likely revert to their standard 4–2–3–1 at least in part to simplify the game with Dejan Joveljić expected to make his debut.