Toronto FC vs. Seattle Sounders | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Toronto FC vs. Seattle Sounders FC
2018 MLS Regular Season – Week 11
BMO Field - Toronto
May 9 - 7:30 pm ET
WATCH: FS1 in US, TSN in Canada
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It is an MLS Cup rematch as Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders meet back in BMO Field exactly five months since TFC captured the 2017 title following a comprehensive 2-0 victory. That came after Seattle claimed the crown in a penalty-kick shootout in 2016.

Toronto snapped a modest three-match winless streak by defeating the Philadelphia Union, 3-0, at home Friday night, while Seattle’s offensive struggles continued in a 0-0 draw with 10-man Columbus at CenturyLink Field Saturday.

Toronto FC

They’re still banged up, but Toronto FC (2-4-1) looked more like themselves after beating the Union, 3-0, at home Friday.

Greg Vanney went with an unchanged XI following a 2-2 draw against the Chicago Fire the preview week and the Reds controlled the run of play from the outset. Victor Vazquez opened the scoring in the 28th minute with Sebastian Giovinco netting his first goal of the season in the 65th minute before Jay Chapman closed out the scoring with his second all-time goal one minute from full time.

“I thought it was a pretty controlled game, I thought we tried to play regardless of the circumstances, which is good and that’s something I want our guys to keep doing,” Vanney said after the match. “I thought it was a good disciplined, well organized, composed performance.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Nick Hagglund (hamstring strain), D - Drew Moor (quadricep strain), F - Jozy Altidore (hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE: D - Chris Mavinga (sore hamstring), D - Justin Morrow (calf strain), D - Eriq Zavaleta (quadriceps strain)

Projected Starting XI
(4-1-4-1, right to left)
GK: Clint Irwin — Auro, Gregory van der Wiel, Michael Bradley, Ashtone Morgan — Marky Delgado — Nicolas Hasler, Ager Aketxe, Victor Vazquez, Jonathan Osorio — Sebastian Giovinco

Notes: Since being shut out in their home opener, Toronto are averaging 2.7 goals per game at BMO Field (2W-1D) ... Sebastian Giovinco has 16 games with 1+ goal and 1+ assist in league play since joining MLS in 2015, the most in the league.

Seattle Sounders

The offensive struggles for Seattle (1-4-2), who have scored a league-low five goals, with a second straight shutout after playing 10-man Crew SC to a 0-0 draw.

Brian Schmetzer made two changes to his starting XI from a 1-0 loss to LAFC the previous week with Chad Marshall returning from injury to start in central defense, moving Gustav Svensson into the midfield and Alex Roldan replacing an injured Nicolas Lodeiro on the wing.

The Sounders played the final 75 minutes with an extra man after Pedro Santos was sent off, but couldn’t find a way to crack the Crew SC’s backline.

“We’re disappointed in the result, it’s not good enough,” Schmetzer said. “I’ll make sure that we watch this tape and we work on attacking movements to try and break that final line and we get a little more creative.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: F - Jordan Morris (torn ACL), M - Harry Shipp (right ankle sprain); QUESTIONABLE: D - Roman Torres (right hamstring strain), D - Waylon Francis (right hamstring strain), M - Victor Rodriguez (right knee sprain), M - Nicolas Lodeiro (foot)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Stefan Frei — Kelvin Leerdam, Kim Kee-Hee, Chad Marshall, Nouhou Tolo — Osvaldo Alonso, Gustav Svensson— Alex Roldan, Clint Dempsey, Cristian Roldan — Will Bruin

Notes: Seattle are winless in their last seven road games (4L-3D), scoring just three goals over this span ... The Sounders put just one shot on target in their 0-0 draw against Columbus on Sunday. Their 7.1 percent shooting accuracy is their lowest in any MLS match in which they attempted at least 10 shots.

All-Time Series

Overall: Toronto FC 3 wins, 11 goals … Seattle Sounders FC 7 wins, 18 goals … 2 ties
At Toronto: Toronto FC 1 win, 4 goals … Sounders FC 3 wins, 6 goals … 1 draw
Last meeting at Toronto: Toronto FC 1, Seattle Sounders FC 1 (July 2, 2016)