Seattle Sounders’ Poor Run of Form Continues

Seattle Sounders travel to Mexico tonight to face Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League down 1-0 after a goal from US international Herculez Gomez.

Domestically, the side are off to their worst start to an MLS campaign with three losses, no wins and only one draw coming at home to the Portland Timbers.

Not playing at the weekend meant the Emerald City side remain in the basement of the Western Conference staring up at the rest of the division. Their form this season hasn’t inspired confidence, with the Sounders having scored only two goals in five matches, as well as not being able to keep a clean sheet in any of the aforementioned.

Unlike Seattle, Santos played out a goalless stalemate away to Tijuana over the weekend. If Seattle have any advantage going into this match, it will be that they at least are taking a well-rested squad to Mexico, given the host’s current league form.

Santos sit 4th in the table in Mexico, and have only lost once at home this calendar year. It can be done though: Seattle will have to duplicate Pachuca’s 1-0 win at the Estadio Corona in mid-February

The pre-match news does not get better for the Sounders as new designated player Obafemi Martins hurt his knee against Real Salt Lake in their last league game, which kept him out of the first leg against Santos and will keep him out in the Tuesday’s return leg.

Sounders boss Sigi Schmid said,

“He’s had this injury before and been treated by a doctor, so we’ve let him go back to see that doctor and hopefully he’ll be back early next week. We’ll be in communication. Hopefully whatever the guy did last time was able to resolve it [and] he’ll do it again.”

Seattle have only led going into halftime in one match so far this season (their mid-March home tie with Portland that ended all square), and they have been behind at half-time in all of their other MLS games.

Traveling to Santos with a deficit and in poor form makes a victory look like a tall task. But if the Sounders need a game to kick-start their season, a match where the pressure is all on Santos to progress and the visitors have nothing to lose might do the trick.