What to watch for when the Sounders face Columbus on the road Saturday

RENTON — The Sounders will try to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season when they play Columbus on Saturday. The back-to-back losses last week were against Los Angeles FC in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals and on the road to Portland in MLS competition.

Getting past the Crew on the road won’t be easy. The slight advantage is the match is during the FIFA men’s international break. Coupled with injuries (keeper Evan Bush) and suspensions (defender Malte Amundsen), Columbus will be without eight players.

The list includes leading scorer Cucho Hernández (Colombia) and starting keeper Patrick Schulte (U.S.), who are on international duty. Hernández has 13 goals while Schulte has eight clean sheets this season.

Columbus will have forward Diego Rossi, who’s bagged 10 goals and a career-best 11 assists this season.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s match:

Sounders (11-9-7) at Columbus (14-4-7)

Time/place: 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.

TV: Apple TV+

Radio: 950 KJR AM (English) and El Rey 1360 AM (Spanish).

Series history: Seattle leads the all-time series 7-5-5 since 2009.

Storylines

Injury report

Seattle isn’t without gaps. Mainstay starters in keeper Stefan Frei (concussion) and midfielder João Paulo (calf) are out due to injury. Midfielder Obed Vargas (Mexico) and defender Nouhou (Cameroon) are on international duty and reserve forward Raúl Ruidíaz has a knee injury.

Backup keeper Andrew Thomas has performed well in place of Frei through multiple different competitions and Reed Baker-Whiting or Jon Bell are suitable to replace Nouhou at left back. But Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer might have to turn to new signee Georgi Minoungou on the wing without João Paulo and Vargas available and midfielder Pedro de la Vega not fully fit due to returning from a groin injury.

Goals to reach

Columbus can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Seattle. The Crew recently won the Leagues Cup title are the defending MLS champions. The Eastern Conference power is 16-1-7 in its past 24 home MLS matches. The focus will be on qualifying no matter who’s in the starting lineup.

Quotable

“I remember talking to [Sounders assistant coach] Andy [Rose] and he’s like, ‘Good teams don’t lose twice in a row,’” Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan said. “That resonates with me. Obviously, we have, but how can we go into this game with that fearless idea of not trying to go in there just to tie or lose, but to go in there and try to win. Why go through all this effort, fly all the way over there to not try to get a result? That’s our expectation. That’s where we’re at. It’s going to be difficult, but that’s the challenge.”