SEATTLE, WA – Two sides looking to make the final six should make one massive match at CenturyLink Field this afternoon when Vancouver Whitecaps FC visit Seattle Sounders FC with major playoff and derby implications at stake.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Watch the match live on TSN1 or listen in on TSN 1040.
Here are the numbers that you need to know:
38 Whitecaps FC and Sounders FC are chasing Cascadia rival Portland Timbers, who are sitting on 38 points for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Portland, who host Philadelphia Union this afternoon, are four points ahead of the 'Caps, and six up on the Sounders, but Seattle have two games in hand over Portland and Vancouver.
6 Speaking of the Pacific Northwest, today's match will have direct repercussions on the 'Caps campaign for their sixth Cascadia Cup. The Sounders, who are the defending Cup champions, will need the full three points from today's tilt to stay alive. Regardless, this year's competition will be decided in the regular season finale at BC Place against Portland.
1,197 The head-to-head matchup between the two rivals have been dominated by the road team as of late, and it has been 1,197 days since the Sounders beat the the 'Caps in Seattle in MLS play. Vancouver has left CenturyLink Field with three points in their last four visits and they will try to make it five today.
29.0% The Rave Green enter the match winless in their last three outings, with the drought starting when striker Clint Dempsey was sidelined for an irregular heartbeat. Without the U.S. men's national team captain, Seattle have won only 29.0 per cent of their fixtures since the start of 2014. With him, they've won 55.6 per cent.
89.43 Filling Dempsey's shoes in headlining the Sounders attack is attacking midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro, who has taken MLS by storm since joining the league midseason, scoring or assisting in each match except for his July 31 debut. His average of 89.43 touches per game is second only to Toronto FC's Michael Bradley, and has engineered an offence that has averaged 1.86 goals per match since his arrival - a jump from a paltry 1.00 goal average prior to his acquisition.
There's a new sheriff in Seattle but Carl Robinson and the 'Caps intend on skipping town having stolen three points from the home side.
Don't miss the showdown this afternoon on TSN1.
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