SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC v. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. New England fly all the way across America to The Evergreen to face us in a match management thinks is more important than Wednesday’s. Typical.

What: MLS league match, Seattle Sounders FC v. New England Revolution.

Where: Royal Brougham Park, Occidental Avenue, Seattle, Washington.

When: 7:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday 6 July 2024 CE.

At Stake: A whole hell of a lot less than will be at stake in three day’s time. A victory over New England would move the Sounders potentially as high as 11th place in the league table, head to head record and goal difference permitting. Should we be defeated we may sink as low as 17th place. MLS Cup qualification startin’ to worry ye? Sounders FC currently occupy the last berth in the Western pseudo-league, one point clear of Austin. But lest you give yourselves too much to worry, we play Austin on 13 July, and we also will have 12 more chances after the New England match to try and claim points in the league, to get into a tournament that 62% of the league qualifies for. We will not be afforded second chances come Wednesday. Sounders FC are currently in 15th place in the league table on 28 points, 19 points adrift of leaders, Inter Miami.

Where to Watch: MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

Where to Listen: 93.3 KJR FM and El Rey 1360 AM.

Support as always is vital, so cheer, sing, and chant as loud as ye can to let the lads hear ye. At kick-off the weather is supposed to be nice, if a little on the humid side. So that’s something. Remember to hydrate well and look after each other. Round up your mates and get ye to the ground if you’re able. Failing that it’s congregating with your mates around the telly. Or alone petting your cat on the settee. Or staring yourself in the glass as you quaff down another pint, trying to figure out where it all went wrong…………Heyyyyyyy! Professional show-business……yeah!

It promises to be a wooly one. But then we’ve won the last two matches on stoppage time winners, so, you know, same old same old.

Buckle up, Grandpa! It’s MLS league football under the Saturday night lights of Royal Brougham Park. GO ON  YOU SOUNDERS! GET IN!

Before kick-off, please join me in the auld toast: “TO THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FOOTBALL CLUB…AND VICTORY!!!”

Note the intricacies of the patterns. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? What was I going to say again?

The Good News

Sounders are clicking along form-wise, especially recently in terms of goal-scoring. It’s difficult to argue with 4-3-1 in the last eight matches and 6-4-2 in our last 12. Results in the league, check.

We’re scoring goals at a reasonable rate again. Although the Sounders’ season average is 1.38 goals/match, over the last five matches we are scoring at an average rate of 2.00 goals/match. That will win you some matches.

We’ve made the US Open Cup Quarter-Finals for the first time in eight years.

Barring calamity, it looks like we’ve got Pedro back. That can only be good. In fact the entire team is fit and available for selection save for Rodrigues…and possibly Jon Bell, if I could figure out where he actually is.

The main goal threat for the Revs is Vrioni who has hit seven goals this season. Carles Gil, who is next best with five goals, is currently injured and not expected to play. No one else in their squad has more than two goals.

The Bad News

Revs recent good form is nothing like their overall statistical numbers in what has been a dreary season for them. Their season average for scoring is 1.05 goals/match and they are last in the league in goal-scoring with 20 goals. However, much like Sounders FC’s recent surge in form, their average scoring over the last six matches is 1.83 goals/match. So that would be much better.

The schedule is about to turn shit for the Sounders, with five matches in all competitions to be played in a fortnight. I wonder how that will affect the USOC run. Oh wait, I already found out and it looks like we’ll be seeing a team of mostly rotation players and possibly as many as three first-choice players line up for kick-off in the 92ºF swelter of Sacramento, California. Last time we pulled that, we were defeated in extra-time. I’ve recently had a glance at the squad list for Sacramento. I’ve never heard of any of their players. Not one. Here’s hoping we can prevail over the 2nd place club in the USL Championship league table. I’ll be one of those cheering the loudest for our Boys in Green. Of that you can be certain.

Other than Columbus who hit five goals past the Revs on 29 June, and Vancouver who hit two goals past them on 15 June, their other five opponents over that span (NY City, Nashville, New York RB, Cincinnati, and Atlanta) could only manage one goal or less against them going back to 25 May.

The Side I Would Select

With the US Open Cup Quarter-Final looming, and still 12 league matches remaining after Saturday’s, you should make the conscious decision to conserve your first choice players for the Cup. Because US Open Cup is a knock-out competition and you only get one chance, rather than the 12 chances we have remaining in the league, after Saturday, to gain points. The Gaffer’s inability to count to one never fails to amaze me.

GK     Thomas

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Nathan

RCH    Hawkins

RB     Baker

LDM    Kitahara

RDM    Leyva

LF     Leo Chu

CAM   Atencio

RF     Rothrock

CF     Ruidiaz

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

I’ve seen the press conference from Friday night and I’m here to tell you the Gaffer is goin’ for it against the Revs. Apparently, and correct me if I get this wrong when the time comes, as long as the Sounders have a shot at MLS Cup qualification, US Open Cup will not see an entirely first-choice team. This, of course, changes when it’s the Leagues Cup, which is somehow prioritised because I don’t know why. So same old, same old. I double down on my previous prediction, that I may or may not have said out loud previously, that Sounders FC will never win the league (MLS insists on calling it the Supporter’s Shield, because stupid) nor the US Open Cup so long as Brian Schmetzer remains Manager.

GK     Frei

LB     Baker-Whiting

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Gomez Andrade

RB     Alex

LDM    Joao Paulo

RDM    Vargas

LF     Leo Chu

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Cristian

CF     Morris

Intangibles

The referee for Saturday night’s match will be Ismir Pekmic.

Sounders FC record in matches refereed by Pekmic: 0-0-2

New England record in matches refereed by Pekmic: 2-1-1

General notes on personnel

New England transfers IN:

Chancalay (Racing Club) €2.83M

Lima (Austin FC) €255,000

Boateng - re-signed

Mensah (San Jose Earthquakes) free

Ravas (Widzew Lodz) €1.1M

Arreaga (Seattle Sounders FC) €70,000

Ivacic (Portland Timbers) free

New England transfers OUT:
Maciel - reserves

Makoun (Anorthosis) free

Reveno (Indy Eleven) loan

Sweat - retired

Bou (Talleres) free

Gonzalez (FC Dallas) free

Rennicks (AC Oulu) free

Vaclik - released

Rivera (Tampa Bay Rowdies) loan

Jackson (MLS Pool) free

Panayotou (Rhode Island FC) loan

Comparison against common opponents

DC 2:1 SEA

DC 3:1 NE

(against DC: SEA 0-0-1 -1, NE 0-0-1 -2) edge SEA

SEA 2:1 CHI

NE 1:1 CHI

CHI 0:1 NE

(against CHI: SEA 1-0-0 +1, NE 1-1-0 +1) edge NE

PHI 2:3 SEA

NE 0:3 PHI

(against PHI: SEA 1-0-0 +1, NE 0-0-1 -3) edge SEA

SEA 0:2 VAN

SEA 1:1 VAN

NE 3:2 VAN

(against VAN: SEA 0-1-1 -2, NE 1-0-0 +1) edge NE

Know Thine Enemy

New England as they lined up in their 2:1 victory over Atlanta United at Foxboro on 3 July. New England had a midweek fixture, and also played last Sat, so the Revs’ visit to Royal Brougham Park, on a two-day turnaround, will make three matches in eight days. Therefore, it could be a very different team that we face on Saturday night.

GOALKEEPER

Aljaz Ivacic, 30

Slovenia

Notable Clubs: Olimpija Ljubjana (45/0), Bela Krajina (9/0), NK Radomlje (55/0), Portland Timbers (54/0), New England Revolution (10/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €600,000

Notes: Developed by Domzale and Olimpia Ljubjana. Won a Slovenian league title and a Slovenian Cup with Olimpija Ljubjana.

DEFENCE

DeJuan Jones, 27

United States (8/0)

Notable Clubs: New England Revolution (140/6)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4.5M

Notes: Developed by East Lansing High School. Played his university football at Michigan State (76/16). Won an MLS league title with New England Revolution.

Henry Kessler, 26

United States (2/0)

Notable Clubs: New England Revolution (94/4)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Developed by New York RB and Beachside SC. Played his university football at Virginia (52/1). Won an MLS league title with New England Revolution. Won a CONCACAF Gold Cup with United States.

Xavier Arreaga, 29

Ecuador (20/1)

Notable Clubs: Manta (55/3), Barcelona SC (79/8), Seattle Sounders FC (101/3), New England Revolution (11/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.5M

Notes: Developed by Union Espanola de Guayaquil and Halley. Won an Ecuadoran league title with Barcelona SC. Won an MLS Cup and a CONCACAF Champions League with Seattle Sounders FC. Named to CONCACAF Champions League Best XI 2022.

Nick Lima, 29

United States (9/0)

Notable Clubs: San Jose Earthquakes (100/7), Austin FC (95/1), New England Revolution (18/0)

Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by San Jose Earthquakes. Played his university football for California (72/6).

MIDFIELD

Ian Harkes, 29

England

Notable Clubs: DC United (33/2), Dundee United (128/7), New England Revolution (23/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €500,000

Notes: Developed by DC United. Played his university football at Wake Forest (82/9). Won a Scottish Championship title (second-tier) with Dundee United.

Esmir Bajraktarevic, 19

United States (1/0)

Notable Clubs: New England Revolution (32/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by SC Waukesha, Chicago Fire, SC Wave, and New England Revolution.

Matt Polster, 31

United States (1/0)

Notable Clubs: Chicago Fire (82/3), Rangers FC (7/0), New England Revolution (121/6)

Estimated Transfer Value: €800,000

Notes: Developed by Downtown Las Vegas SC and Colorado Rapids. Played his university football at Southern Illinois - Edwardsville (79/6). Won an MLS league title with New England Revolution.

FORWARD

Dylan Borrero, 22

Colombia (1/0)

Notable Clubs: Santa Fe (8/0), Atletico Mineiro (39/3), New England Revolution (29/5)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3M

Notes: Developed by Santa Fe. Won a Brazilian Serie A title, Copa do Brasil, and Supercopa do Brasil with Atletico Mineiro.

Giacomo Vrioni, 25

Albania (6/0)

Notable Clubs: Venezia (24/1), Cittadella (4/0), Juventus (2/0), WSG Tirol (28/19), New England Revolution (54/14)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by Matelica and Sampdoria. Won a Coppa Italia Serie C with Juventus U-23s.

Noel Buck, 19

United States

Notable Clubs: New England Revolution (44/5)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Developed by New England FC and New England Revolution. Noel is a dual-citizen holding United States and United Kingdom passports. Although born in Massachusetts, Buck has played for England (10/1) at youth levels and is not yet cap-tied to either United States or England.

Familiar Faces

New England defender, Xavier Arreaga, played for the Sounders FC (101/3) from 2019 until he was sold to New England on 23 April 2024 for up to €70,000, depending on performance metrics, and a 2025 International Roster spot.

Squads

Sounders FC from:

Frei, Thomas, Baker, Gomez Andrade, Hawkins, Nathan, Nouhou, Ragen, Alex, Atencio, Baker-Whiting, de la Vega, Joao Paulo, Kitahara, Leyva, Rusnak, Vargas, Morris, Cristian, Leo Chu, Musovski, Rothrock, Ruidiaz, Teves.

Note: I was unable to confirm whether Jon Bell would be available for selection, or even if he had returned to Seattle from his recent Jamaica call-up at Copa America.

New England from:

Edwards, Gunn, Ivacic, Ravas, Arreaga, Bye, Farrell, Jones, Kessler, Lima, Mensah, Polster, Romney, Tiago, Boateng, Buck, Harkes, Kaye, McNamara, Panayotou, Spaulding, Bajraktarevic, Borrero, Fry, Vrioni, Wood.

Injury List

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Sounders FC -

OUT: Rodrigues (hamstring).

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

New England -

OUT: Chancalay (knee), Carles Gil (leg), Nacho Gil (knee), Miller (thigh).

MATCHDAY DECISION: Boateng (hamstring), Borrero (hip), Kaye (hip flexor), Lima (groin), McNamara (hamstring), Wood (calf).

Discipline

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Sounders FC: No players suspended.

New England: No players suspended. Arreaga out next match if booked.

Fun Fact

Sounders FC Reserves defeated rivals Timbers2 by a score of 1:0 at Starfire on 30 June. Scoring for the Sounders FC Reserves was Yu Tsukanome. In the team for the Reserves: Thomas, Baker, Lopez, Hawkins, Sousa, Kitahara, Leyva, Minoungou, Bettache, Teves, Tsukanome. Substitutes used: Kossa-Rienzi, Daroma, Bowen, Brunell, Gomez, De Rosario. Well done, lads!