When Seattle Sounders FC travel to The Home Depot center to take on Chivas USA, it might not be a question of who's best. It could be a question of who's left.
Key contributors Tyrone Marshall and Osvaldo Alonso are out for Seattle, while Jesse Marsch, Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan will all be absent for Chivas. The absences will give Saturday night's clash a vastly different feel than when the teams met on April 18. Chivas won that game 2-0, cementing their position atop the Western Conference standings.
"It's a factor. They're missing some guys, we're missing some guys; that's just the way it is when you roll into June, July and August," Schmid said. "That's just a fact of life in MLS. ... I've always said, we've got more than 11 players and the other guys have to step up and play."
In the midfield, Chivas must play without Marsch (red card) and Kljestan (international duty), which should give Seattle more room to operate, even without Alonso. Kljestan covers a great deal of ground while Marsch provides strength, intensity, and leadership in the center of the park.
Without the pair, the responsibility for connecting the team will fall to Paulo Nagamura. According to Sounders FC midfielder Vagenas, who has played against Nagamura several times, Chivas will be in good hands under Nagamura's stewardship.
"They seem to be able to plug in guys when injuries come up and not miss a beat," Vagenas said. "In my opinion, Nagamura is as good of a central midfielder as there is in this league."
In the Chivas defense, the absence of the speedy Bornstein at left back should give Seattle's Freddie Ljungberg more room to operate. In order to make space in the middle for Fredy Montero, Ljungberg has been pushing wide right. The results have been positive; Ljungberg assisted on Seattle's only goal last week against the Columbus Crew.
Bornstein's absence should also make right back James Riley's job easier. Bornstein, who is known to get forward on the flanks, caused Riley's own goal in the teams' first meeting with a cross from an overlapping run.
With Seattle reeling from five consecutive ties, Sounders FC players are viewing this match as a chance to move up in the conference standings. Chivas' win in April put the four points ahead of Seattle in the conference standings. Since then, the Red-and-White have stretched the lead to seven points, while Seattle has dropped from second place to third.
After holding down the No. 2 position in the West for most of the season, the streaking Houston Dynamo leapfrogged Seattle over the weekend with a game in hand. A victory on the road against the best team in the conference will be a measuring stick for his team, says Vagenas.
"Like Sigi said, I think it's going to be a good measuring stick for this club, to see where we're at," he said. "In all seriousness, (Chivas USA) is a team I know very well. I've played against them a million times. I know what they do well and I know what they struggle with; hopefully we can make it uncomfortable for them.
"They are coming off a bad loss at home and a lot of rest, so obviously we are going to get their best effort."
Seattle will also try to improve on its meager record away from home. In five games away from the friendly confines of Qwest Field, Seattle has compiled a 1-1-3 record. Schmid knows that in order for this team to achieve its goals, it has to start doing better away from Qwest Field.
"One of the things you need to do in this league if you want to be a playoff team is you have to get points on the road," Schmid said. "If you want to win in the playoff you're going to need to get a result on the road at some point, maybe two.
"From that standpoint, it's just a good test for us to go down, play a good team, and come out with something on the road. That's what we're all about this weekend."
Andrew Winner is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
