Three big questions when it comes to the Seattle Sounders as they enter the 2020 MLS season
The last time fans of the Seattle Sounders gathered together at CenturyLink Field, the Sounders had clinched their second MLS Cup title of the decade with a 3-1 win over Toronto FC.
A new decade and new season is now on the horizon with the Sounders entering the 2020 MLS season as defending champions. Although they’ve already started their season with two games in the CONCACAF Champions League competition as they bowed out to Olimpia in penalty kicks this past week.
The attention now turns to the Seattle Sounders raising a banner and looking to repeat, however there are three important questions that are paramount to solving the MLS puzzle for Seattle in 2020.
Another hot start?
A constant theme for the Seattle Sounders has been a constant theme but that trend changed last year as Seattle opened up with a seven-match unbeaten streak. You can make a solid case that the first month and a half helped buoy the Seattle side through a tough western conference. The task now is, can they do it again.
Last season, the Sounders had the sixth-hardest schedule with an overall point rating of 1.41. That looks at the average of what each opponent could potentially produce on the road and at home. In 2020, the schedule ranks 10th in terms of difficulty but that comes with the addition of Miami and Nashville into the league. Things don’t really change when it comes to the rating, that’s still a 1.41 points per match average.
Injuries and absences, better equipped to handle it this year?
If you play any competitive sport, injuries are going to happen. When you’re missing important players, the rash of injuries hurts even more. Right now, the Seattle Sounders are missing three key pieces. Nico Lodeiro (hamstring tendinitis), Gustav Svensson (calf strain), and Will Bruin (ACL tear) will all miss the season opener vs. Chicago and while these are not a surprise, some of Seattle’s biggest struggles in 2019 came due to injuries.
One could make a legitimate case that some of the late-game struggles vs. Olimpia in CCL were due to the absence of Svensson, especially in defense. It will be determined in those absences are felt in MLS play as well. Another thing to keep an eye on later this summer is both Copa America and Euro 2020, that will remove a plethora of players league-wide. With the strength and depth of the Sounders improved players like Danny Leyva, Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez, and Justin Dhillon that can either start or come off the bench, you’d have to feel good if you’re a Sounders supporter.
How the west (and more) will be won?
It is pretty fair to say that the depth, talent, and title contenders come from the MLS western conference. Seattle has to fight the LA teams (LAFC and LA Galaxy), their neighbors to the south (Portland Timbers), and those two potential spoilers in Kansas City and Houston.
What makes this so fascinating is that we’re in the second year of the one-game MLS playoff format and Seattle showed that if you can get one of the top two seeds in the west then your chances increase for hosting a playoff game. Sometimes you need the bracket to break your way and then you are hosting an MLS Cup Final.
The team that can survive from March to November will have truly earned a spot as the western conference champions and perhaps MLS Cup Champions.
