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The finish line is almost in view as Toronto FC head down the stretch towards the playoffs, but first have a huge challenge ahead traveling to take on the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night. TFC are coming off back to back home wins and should be feeling confident about recent results, however, their last match saw them hit with injuries to key players and are suffering from international call ups, that will make this fixture that more difficult. Seattle are having a poor season by their standards, and will need to play with real urgency if they are to make the playoffs.
Toronto will have serious personnel decisions to make, but Greg Vanney received a bit of a blessing when Benito Floro did not call up his Canadians, as well as Michael Bradley choosing to remain with the club over the international break. On the flipside, Seattle should have all their weapons ready to go, so Vanney will need to go above and beyond to prepare his players for a team more than ready to compete. Seattle are uncharacteristically languishing on the edge of the playoff picture and desperately need to get on a run. Toronto will have to dig deep in order to not repeat recent poor road displays and avoid being the catalyst to the Sounders resurgence in the Western Conference.
Keep thinking
An interesting coincidence heading into this fixture between Toronto and Seattle is that both are coming off 2-1 victories at home, but in both cases the score does not tell the entire picture. The Reds are coming off two home wins that settled some discontent after a poor run of results that saw them lose at home to Kansas City and away to the Red Bulls. Bouncing back with a 5-0 win against Orlando and 2-1 win over Montreal, while important to their position in the table, should be considered in more detail when approaching an away match in Seattle.
The most important take away from last weekend's 2-1 win over Montreal is the loss of Benoit Cheyrou to injury as well players being called up to international duty that includes Giovinco and Jozy Altidore. While TFC were able to come away with a victory, their second at home, the asterisk of a depleted Montreal should be added, as without Ignacio Piatti, the team has lacked another dimension to their attack. TFC still had a moment of defensive lapsing where Montreal scored and this will be an area to watch closely against a Seattle team who have potent finishers.
The Sounders are having perhaps one of their worst seasons since coming into the league in 2009. Since their inaugural campaign they have been jockeying for the top of the table, but this season have been out of a playoff position and currently sit in the last slot in the Western Conference. Despite this, Toronto cannot be seen as favourites, beginning with their depleted roster and Seattle who should have all their key players available.
While Clint Dempsey is the name often associated with Seattle from a USMNT perspective, it is Obafemi Martins who TFC will have their hands full with. His all around game will undoubtedly cause problems for a group of defenders that have rarely looked confident and performed flawlessly over ninety minutes. With Martins and Dempsey carrying the load from a scoring perspective (10 and 7 goals, respectively), they do have decent support from the midfield. Lamar Neagle has established himself as a solid MLS player and Gonzalo Pineda, Marco Pappa and the return of Osvaldo Alonso should mean Toronto will be up against a very capable corps who will likely have the advantage on this night.
Seattle have not been overly convincing from a defensive standpoint, however, this is an instance where you point one finger and three point back. For all Seattle's issues this season, the Sounders have surrendered 12 fewer goals with two more games over TFC. There is no question that this game could be decided by the backline, however, the Reds will need to develop a cohesive plan that doesn't allow for the Sounders to capitalize on their poor defending.
It is hard to see an outcome where TFC walk away with a clean sheet, but that should be the objective for Greg Vanney. Without Giovinco, and the X-factor that has kept them in games that they surely would have lost, defensive discipline will be paramount to avoid a route. Neither Josh Williams or Ahmed Kantari have been overly convincing in recent outings, but their performance can be mitigated by support from all sides. Both Collen Warner and Michael Bradley have proven to be capable of playing box to box, but having these players in sync will be essential.
Bradley has been effective when pushed up the pitch, but he will be required from a possession standpoint to quarterback lying deeper to link up towards the attack. Jonathan Osorio's non-call up to Canada is a blessing as he's been playing well and will need to be assertive in the attack as a scoring option. Toronto should be able to find their chances as Seattle have allowed goals at home, and making the most of those chances will be the difference between keeping it close and scratching out a point, or being resigned to a similar road result as seen of late.
In the end
TFC head into Seattle with back to back home wins banked, but now face a much stiffer challenge in the quality of opponent and having to put on a comprehensive road performance. The Sounders have not been great this year, but all it takes is a short winning streak in MLS to go from pretenders to contenders. Seattle has the players and experience, while Toronto will need to really dig deep to get a result on Saturday night. The truth is, of late, we've not see TFC able to compete on the road or against teams with good quality players. It could be a character defining game, but one would expect that to happen when at full strength, not with so many key players out.
Prediction
Toronto FC 0-3 Seattle
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