Okay. We're officially in the homestretch of the Sounders inaugural MLS season. The Ravers have fallen down the league table over the weekend, but they're still tied for fifth overall with 33 points. One problem that they face is that most of the teams competing for the final few playoff spots have played one or two fewer games than the Sounders, so they need to pick up every point that they can from here on out. Based on previous years' league results, it's likely that the Sounders will need 40 points to guarantee a spot in the playoffs. That's definitely do-able with seven games left in the season, the final two against lowly Kansas City and Dallas. One nice thing about having played more games than most other teams at this point in the season is that, after Toronto, the Sounders will have at least 7 days to prepare for every single remaining game of the season. The Sounders are set to face off against Toronto FC on Saturday. Toronto (some would call them Totocrap FC) is in a four-way tie for the final playoff spot. They were knocked out of the Champions League earlier this month by Puerto Rico, so you can be sure that they will be bringing everything they have to Seattle on Saturday. TFC is led by Dwayne De Rosario, a Canadian National Team member and a prolific MLS goal scorer. Toronto coach Chris Cummins likes to pull his forwards back and let midfielders De Rosario and Amado Guevara make long runs looking for crosses above the box. This tends to wear down opponents' defenders and can make the offside trap counterproductive. Working in the Sounders' favor is the fact that Toronto is a terrible road team, having taken only five points (three of which were against San Jose) and been shut out three times in seven away matches so far this year.
Bookies
Three quarters of the betting money is on the Sounders for this one. I'd like to say that this is a good sign, but even more of the betting money was on the Sounders last home game against the Revolution and we know how that turned out.
ESPN Power Rankings
The MLS Power Ranking make no sense and seem to just rank teams based on how they did in their last game with no regard for callups or days rest or cards or anything, so I like to stick with the ESPN rankings. ESPN has Seattle ranked fourth overall behind Columbus, Houston, and Chicago (no surprise) while Toronto is ranked tenth.
Predictions
The Sounders are going to be at full strength for the first time in a while. Leo Gonzalez has settled in at left back and is looking more solid with each game. Brad Evans is looking sharp in the midfield, and Freddie Ljungberg was on fire against Houston. The only thing that isn't clicking is the scoring. There are plenty of opportunities being created (Seattle should have beat Houston) but they can't finish (see also: Steve Zakuani). I'm guessing that this is the game where the scoring drought ends. Watch for a goal from the midfield from Ljungberg or maybe even on an outside shot from Brad Evans. Montero is due for a goal as well.
