Where Will the Seattle Sounders Finish This Year?
The Seattle Sounders can mathematically finish anywhere between seventh or third in the Western Conference. But where will they actually finish?
The Sounders have had quite a turnaround the past few months. Since the signing of Nicolas Lodeiro and the sacking of Sigi Schmid, Seattle has stormed up the table and now is sitting pretty in 4th place, tied for points with 5th place Real Salt Lake but above them on wins and goal differential. Now, with 2 games left in the MLS regular season, where will the Sounders finish in the Western Conference? Here are all the scenarios, ranked by their likelihood:
5th Place (Most Likely)
This will probably be where the Sounders finish by the end of October. After drawing against Houston during the midweek, Seattle missed out on a huge opportunity to make some space between them and 6th place Sporting Kansas City who now sit 2 points behind Seattle. With Seattle bound to drop points with injury Ivanschitz and suspended Alonso and Evans against FC Dallas and RSL while RSL is pitted against SKC before their clash with the Sounders in Seattle, it seems likely that RSL will grab 4th place away from the Sounders, even if they have struggled in the past few weeks.
6th Place (Second Most Likely)
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It also isn’t impossible for Sporting Kansas City to overtake the Sounders in the last 2 weeks of the season. Just 2 points behind the Rave Green, Sporting could easily find their way above Seattle. In the next 2 weeks, SKC will be taking on struggling RSL, who have lost 3 games in 4 and struggling San Jose who have only won 1 in the last 9. With Alonso, Evans and Ivanschitz out for Seattle, it is almost certain that the Rave Green will drop points, giving SKC the opportunity to push the Sounders down to 6th, grabbing the last playoff spot.
4th Place (Less Likely)
With the way Seattle’s defense has been holding up, a strong defensive stance in these last two games could see the Rave Green hold onto their 4th place spot, especially if SKC and RSL keep up their struggles. If the Sounders can grab a point in Dallas and get 3 against RSL during the last week, it should be enough to grab 4th place, as long as SKC and RSL do keep dropping points.
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3rd Place (Probably Won’t Happen)
The Sounders could mathematically grab 3rd place from the LA Galaxy. The Sounders are only 3 points away from the Galaxy but with the players that the Sounders are missing, it seems unlikely they will grab enough points to challenge the Galaxy, even though they have been struggling as of late.
7th Place (In No Way Is This Happening)
Portland is just 4 points behind the Sounders in the standings so Seattle could fall all the way down to 7th. Seattle would most likely have to lose their last 2 games of the season. Even if that happens, it is unlikely for Portland to catch them, since they are playing Colorado this weekend.