The Colorado Rapids will hope to celebrate the 4th of July by handing the Seattle Sounders their first defeat of the season on Sunday when both teams face off at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
The Rapids are currently in fourth in the Western Conference table after losing 3-1 last week to Sporting Kansas City, while Seattle equalised with less than 20 minutes remaining versus the Vancouver Whitecaps, settling for a 2-2 draw.
Match preview
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With Dick's Sporting Goods Park at total capacity for the first time, the Rapids will be keen to send their fans into a frenzy while also proving that they belong with the very best that MLS have to offer.
The Burgundy Boys are one of the deepest teams in the league with some solid talent at every position, but they have yet to prove that they can take their game to that next level and compete with the top teams.
The first significant test for Robin Fraser and his team in 2021 came last Wednesday against Sporting KC, and his side failed, losing 3-1, as they found themselves chasing the game from the 14th minute when the Wizards took the lead.
Colorado have been deadly on set pieces this season and on the counter, a pair of elements that they will hope to utilise against a Sounders team who have dominated their opponents at times this year.
Last week the Rapids failed to contain one of the elite strikers in MLS, allowing two first-half goals from the Wizards' Daniel Salloi, and it will not get any easier this week, having to contain Raul Ruidiaz, who is second in the league with nine goals.
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With 25 points from their opening 11 matches, their best start in franchise history, the Sounders faithful and manager Brian Schmetzer can have little to complain about.
While they are the best team currently in the league, and the only one unbeaten, their play of late suggests that they are not invincible.
Last week, the Whitecaps became the first team this season to score against Seattle from open play while also ending the Sounders' shutout streak at 949 consecutive minutes without conceding.
The week before that, Seattle needed an 88th-minute penalty to see off Real Salt Lake, so suffice it to say that the Rave Green may not be as unbeatable now as they were at the beginning of this campaign.
Their level of play over their past few fixtures may have dropped slightly, but they are still the most talented squad at every position, and they will be hungry to fix any flaws they may have in their game.
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Team News
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The Rapids right-back Steven Beitashour and midfielder Younes Namli are still suffering from unknown injuries, with neither expected to see the field on Sunday.
A new uniform seems to have been just what winger Michael Barrios needed to get his career back on track, as the former Dallas player has two goals and three assists this year, after scoring only once in 21 matches for the Toros in 2020.
Barrios can thank his midfield for the excellent service he has gotten thus far, notably from Jack Price, who leads the team with four assists, while Kellyn Acosta and Cole Bassett have been instrumental in helping the Burgundy Boys gain possession in the middle of the park.
Seattle will be missing winger Jordan Morris and defensive midfielder Jordy Delem, both of whom have cruciate ligament ruptures.
Starting keeper Stefan Frei has yet to recover from a knee injury, while his teammate Nicolas Lodeiro had knee surgery in late May and will be out for the foreseeable future.
The Sounders are tied for the fewest goals conceded with seven, a big reason being Yeimar Gomez, who is second in interceptions with 30, while midfielder Josh Atencio returned to the lineup after missing seven consecutive matches and notched his first MLS assist.
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Vines, Trusty, Moor, Abubakar, Rosenberry; Bassett, Price, Acosta; Lewis, Barrios
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Cleveland; Gomez, O'Neill, Cissoko; Rowe, C. Roldan, Paulo, Bruin, Smith; Montero, Ruidiaz
We say: Colorado Rapids 2-1 Seattle Sounders
All good things must come to an end, and the Sounders may finally meet their match when they face a Rapids team who beat them 3-1 last season on home soil and who are nearly as deep at every position as Seattle.
The Rapids have been lethal in the final third at home, with three goals in each of their last three games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park coming from eight different players.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Seattle Sounders win with a probability of 38.73%. A win for Colorado Rapids had a probability of 35.93% and a draw had a probability of 25.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Seattle Sounders win was 0-1 with a probability of 8.77%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.52%) and 0-2 (6.25%). The likeliest Colorado Rapids win was 1-0 (8.39%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.95%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 12% likelihood.
