The Seattle Sounders have had a remarkable turnaround this season. They really looked dead in the water when they dismissed Sigi Schmid in the middle of the campaign, but they've rallied to get on the right side of the cut line with 90 minute of soccer left to play. They've got work to do though, as Portland and Sporting Kansas City would love to get the Sounders knocked out of the postseason, so the pressure is on both Seattle and Real Salt Lake on Sunday.
Don't miss the MLS action from CenturyLink Field at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 23, 2016. Catch every moment of the match live on ESPN.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Seattle Sounders -140
Real Salt Lake +350
Draw +250
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
The Sounders are the -140 favorites in this one, and for good reason. Only three points will certainly ensure the job getting done to get into the playoffs, and you can bet that the 12th man in Seattle is going to be all amped up for this one.
The problem the Sounders have though, is that Real Salt Lake has the same problem. Not only does RSL have to get a result from this to at least ensure a spot in the playoffs, but it's going to likely take a win to leave the team at home for the postseason instead of on the road. The last thing Real Salt Lake wants to do ( outside of miss the playoffs ) is have to come right back here to Seattle in a couple nights.
Key Injuries
These Sounders aren't the same as the Sounders that were around in the postseason last year. Clint Dempsey and Andreas Ivanschitz are both out of the fold, while Brad Evans and Chad Marshall probably aren't playing to wrap up the regular season and are questionable for the beginning of the playoffs, too.
RSL won't have Aaron Maund or Emery Welshman for this match, but the real question mark is Yura Movsisyan. We don't know a lot about Movsisyan outside of the fact that he isn't training at this point.
Recent Form
The Sounders really had a great stretch in August and September, but we have to wonder if they've merely run out of gas. They were beaten last week at Dallas, but that wasn't really the concerning outcome. The last time Seattle played at home, Houston, the worst team in the Western Conference, walked out with a point. Remember that CenturyLink Field is supposed to be this impenetrable fortress, but the Sounders are just 9-2-5 here this season.
We haven't spoken about Real Salt Lake much here, but it's worth nothing that it does have four victories on the road this year. Still, only six results in 16 away fixtures is a tough sell, especially in a match that's so important.
RSL only has one goal in its last five matches, and it hasn't won a game since August 26, so if this team wants to know why it could still be at home for the playoffs after flirting with the idea of winning the Supporters' Shield as recently as six or so weeks ago, this end of season swoon is it.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
With Movsisyan hurting and Joao Plata nowhere to be found on the scoring sheet of late, RSL is in a heck of a lot of trouble here.
Still, we're not convinced about Seattle either. The Sounders have a great sniper now in Jordan Morris, a man who leads this team with 12 goals and has taken over for Dempsey admirably, but he can't go at this alone in a de facto playoff game and get the job done by himself.
The good news for both teams is that any result aside from a win for either Sporting Kansas City or Portland on Decision Day will be good enough to put both in the playoffs. The bad news is that this draw we're expecting could have both teams on pins and needles for the full 90 minutes until the other games are decided. We wouldn't be shocked to see these clubs meeting at Rio Tinto Stadium in a few days for the right to go up against either FC Dallas or Colorado in the conference semis.
MLS Odds: Seattle 0, Real Salt Lake 0
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