It’s the marquee match-up of the season so far as Columbus Crew hosts Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday night at Lower.com Field (5:30 p.m. ET, FOX, 97.1 FM The Fan).
Seattle returns to Columbus for the first time since the 2020 MLS Cup Final, which saw the Crew win, 3-0. Columbus has won three of its last four home matches against Seattle (L1), scoring three goals in each win.
While the defending MLS Cup champions enter on a five-match losing skid, the first-place Sounders have won six of their last eight away matches (D1 L1) including the last three in a row. This is Seattle’s second three-match away winning streak of the season, though it hasn’t won four straight on the road since July-September 2018.
As for Seattle’s standout player at the moment, Raúl Ruidíaz has scored a league-high 14 goals this season, setting a career regular season-high in MLS. Only two players have scored 15 goals in a single regular season for Seattle: Obafemi Martins (17 in 2014, 15 in 2015) and Clint Dempsey (15 in 2014).
Saturday’s match is presented by OhioHealth as part of Youth Soccer Night at Lower.com Field.
GAME NOTES:
*Seattle: 11-3-6 (39 points, 1st West), Columbus: 6-8-6 (24 points, 8th East)
*Recent won/loss/draw scale: Sounders: WWDLL, Crew SC: LLLLL
*Uncharacteristic for Crew. In first three matches of Columbus’ losing streak, they allowed 11 goals and scored five. In the last two matches, the MLS defending champions have allowed just one goal in each, but were shutout in both.
*Seattle Sounders FC will face a familiar player and fan favorite. In popular defender Saad Abdul-Salaam for the first time since he left the club in 2019. He spent just one season in Seattle, but he played over 1,000 minutes across 18 matches and helped the club win MLS Cup 2019.
COURTESY CREW AND SEATTLE COMMUNICATIONS
