Colorado Rapids v Seattle Sounders: Armas eyeing top four finish despite Galaxy setback

Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas believes his side can break into the top four of the Western Conference ahead of facing the Seattle Sounders this weekend.

The Rapids currently occupy sixth in the standings and have already qualified for the playoffs, but are just three points behind Real Salt Lake in fourth.

Armas’ side have won just one of their last four MLS fixtures, though, with their latest defeat coming at the hands of the LA Galaxy, despite Connor Ronan scoring the opener.

“We are looking forward to Saturday. We’re looking forward to getting right back out there on the pitch here at home in our quest for a top four finish,” Armas said.

“That’s what is on our minds right now. We’re looking forward to Seattle coming here, another top team.

“I’m really proud of my team and how they are going for it. We knew we were facing a really good team who are in first place. It was not the result we wanted, but that is football when you play good teams, the margins are thin, and it is a game we can learn from.”

Seattle, meanwhile, come into the encounter brimming with confidence having now gone five games unbeaten, most recently sweeping aside 10-man Vancouver Whitecaps away from home.

The Sounders are three points ahead of this weekend’s opponents but know a victory is a must if they are to remain in the top four ahead of the playoffs.

With just two games left of the regular season, head coach Brian Schmetzer was not worried about the workload on his players, insisting rotation could be required this weekend.

“If you look at the calendar and you see after this next game, we have a week off before we play Portland, so the team that is playing extended minutes is going to have plenty of opportunity to recover,” Schmetzer said.

“We’re going to go to Colorado and make sure we don’t put anybody at an injury risk and put a strong team out against a very good side.

“Then we’ll play out the rest of the season how we see fit.”

BIG ROAD DUB pic.twitter.com/Dkl4MRKVvX

— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) October 3, 2024

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic

Mihailovic’s assist on Wednesday took him to 23 goal contributions this season (11 goals, 12 assists), equalling the single-season club record set by Diego Rubio in 2022.

The American is the only player in Rapids history with at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season.

Seattle Sounders – Albert Rusnak

Rusnak scored a goal and recorded two assists in Seattle’s win over Vancouver.

It marked the third time in his last 11 regular season appearances that Rusnak had a goal and an assist in a match after not doing so in any of his previous 93 appearances dating back to 2021.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

The Sounders have recorded 22 regular season wins over the Rapids, more than against any other team since they joined the MLS in 2009. In fact, the only MLS team with more regular season wins over a single opponent in that time is Real Salt Lake, also against Colorado (24).

Including their victory over Vancouver, the Sounders have won 11 of their last 15 regular season matches (D2 L2). This is the third different campaign in which Seattle has won 11 or more times in a 15-game span in league play, joining 2011 and 2018.

Colorado come into the game off the back of a 3-1 defeat to LA Galaxy, their first such result on home soil in 10 matches. It was the first time the Rapids lost a home match by multiple goals since a 3-1 defeat to Nashville SC in May 2022.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Colorado Rapids – 35.1%

Draw – 26%

Seattle Sounders – 39%