A place in the Western Conference semi-final will be at stake on Friday when Dallas travel to Lumen Field in the decisive third match of that series against the Seattle Sounders.
The Toros evened that MLS Cup playoff series at one with a 3-1 victory at home against the Rave Green over the weekend as they seek a second successive trip to the second round.
Match preview
© Reuters
You play all season to get these home playoff games, and now it will be up to the Sounders to get the job done on Friday.
Even though game two of this series was not their finest moment, Seattle should feel confident being in front of their fans for this fixture, having triumphed in 15 of their previous 16 playoff games at Lumen Field.
Counting their 2-0 victory over Dallas in game one of this series, the Rave Green have suffered just one defeat in their last nine MLS home contests (2-0 loss versus Atlanta United), while they were beaten just four times at home during the regular season, the second-fewest in the Western Conference.
During the 2023 regular season, Brian Schmetzer's side conceded the opening goal at home on four occasions and wound up losing each of those encounters, failing to score in two of those instances.
The Sounders have only been behind in three of their home playoff games since 2014, and each time, they came back to win within the 90 minutes, including the opening leg of their 2015 conference semi-final tie versus the Toros (2-1).
Seattle have conceded a goal or fewer in eight of their previous nine MLS post-season affairs at Lumen Field and have not lost a home playoff game in 90 minutes since 2013 (2-1 versus the Portland Timbers).
© Reuters
As unimpressive as Dallas have been at times down the stretch of the MLS campaign, they have shown plenty of fight, extending their domestic unbeaten run at home to seven matches.
Unlike the opening match of this series, the Toros made their chances count early in game two, going in front after just six minutes of play as they are now unbeaten in their last five MLS matches when scoring first.
Dallas have only emerged victorious from one playoff match away from home since 2011 (8-7 triumph on penalties versus the Portland Timbers in 2020) but have not claimed a road victory in the post-season over 90 minutes since 2010 (3-0 win at the Los Angeles Galaxy).
The Toros have triumphed in six of their previous seven post-season affairs in which they have found the back of the net on multiple occasions in normal time.
Nico Estevez's men have managed to claim a positive result in two of the previous three games where they found themselves behind at the interval, winning one of those encounters (3-1 at Real Salt Lake).
It has been quite some time since Dallas have beaten the Sounders away from home, with the Toros winless in their last 19 visits to Lumen Field and their previous victory in Seattle occurring in 2011 (1-0).
Team News
© Reuters
Reed Baker-Whiting remains a question mark for Seattle on Friday as he is dealing with a left hamstring strain, while Sota Kitahara might not be available once against because of a quad injury.
Albert Rusnak saw his two-match goalscoring run end in game two of this series, while Stefan Frei conceded for the first time away from home since September 20 (2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids).
In his 200th appearance across all competition, Jordan Morris put home his fifth career post-season strike versus the Toros in game two, while Nicolas Lodeiro and Fredy Montero have each netted six times in their careers against Dallas.
Jose Martinez will both be questionable for Dallas due to a sore foot, Facundo Quignon has an issue with his upper thigh, Alan Velasco hurt his knee, while Tarik Scott and Geovane Jesus are both unavailable for that same reason.
Paul Arriola ended a seven-match scoring drought with the opening goal last Saturday, Jesus Ferreira netted for the first time since September 20 and Jader Obrian has a goal in two of his last three games.
Bernard Kamungo has three goal involvements in his previous four encounters versus the Sounders, scoring the equalising goal in their 1-1 draw at Seattle during the regular season.
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; A. Roldan, Gomez, Ragen, Tolo; Paulo, Atencio; C. Roldan, Rusnak, Chu; Morris
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Twumasi, Ibeagha, Tafari, Farfan; Fraser, Illarramendi; Kamungo, Pomykal, Arriola; Ferreira
We say: Seattle Sounders 2-0 Dallas
Winning away from home in the playoffs is difficult, with few having done it so far in 2023, and we believe that the Sounders' post-season experience and their lengthy unbeaten run in Seattle versus the Toros will provide them with a significant psychological edge heading into this match.
How to watch
You can watch Seattle Sounders vs. Dallas and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
