Sounders will be short-handed but rested as Dynamo visit

The Sounders are back at Lumen Field for a match against Houston. The sides last met in the MLS playoffs when the Dynamo were swept in a best-of-three opening-round series via penalty shootout.

The Sounders are somewhat rested after a whirlwind eight matches in 25 days. The stretch, which included four CONCACAF Champions Cup matches, had dramatic highs and lows. A high the Sounders would like to replicate is the 5-2 victory against Los Angeles FC at Lumen earlier this month.

Among the lows are the injuries to the attacking players. Sounders striker Jordan Morris (hamstring) and midfielders Pedro de la Vega (quad) and Paul Arriola (ACL) are unavailable to play. Arriola is likely done for the season while Morris and de la Vega should return by May.

The trio accounted for eight of the Sounders’ 14 goals to start the season, through all competitions. The positive is Houston hasn’t played strong defensively this season, allowing eight goals and still searching for its first MLS victory.

Here’s a look at the match: 

Sounders (1-2-1) vs. Houston (0-3-1) 

Time/place: 7:30 p.m., Saturday at Lumen Field in Seattle.

TV: Apple TV

Radio: iHeartMedia Seattle (English) and El Rey 1360 AM (Spanish)

Series history: Seattle leads the series 18-6-10

Storylines

Celebrating legends

The Sounders will be honoring three players Saturday who’ve made a mark on the club. The first will be recognizing midfielder Cristian Roldan during pregame warmups. The former University of Washington star played his 353^rd match as a Sounder, through all competitions. It’s the most for a field player in the 51-year history of the club. Sounders keeper Stefan Frei leads the category with 393 appearances.

Shortly before kickoff, the Sounders will hold a celebration of the return of former captain Nico Lodeiro, who signed with Houston last month. Lodeiro was named MLS Newcomer of the Year in 2016 as he led the Sounders to the first of two MLS Cup titles in his eight-year career. He is the club’s career leader in assists (95).

Morris will be honored at halftime for becoming the career scoring leader with 87 goals across all competitions. He broke Raúl Ruidíaz’s record during the victory against LAFC. The historic goal was in the 77^th minute to give the Sounders a 3-1 lead. Morris is in his 10^th season with his hometown club.

More players out

The Sounders also will be without defender Nouhou (Cameroon) and midfielder Obed Vargas (Mexico U20s) due to national team call-ups. Houston is without U.S. international Jack McGlynn while veteran midfielder Erik Sviatchenko (lower body) is questionable.

There are multiple ways Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer can fill in the gaps, including playing Jon Bell on the back line and moving Roldan to the right wing and playing João Paulo with Danny Leyva in the midfield. Schmetzer is expected to play Jesús Ferreira in place of Morris up top.

Quotable

“It’s going to be a moment of joy,” Sounders defender Alex Roldan said of fans and teammates reuniting with Lodeiro. “But we’re going to compete and not let him try to do what he did for us for so long. Hopefully we can shut down his quality of play.”