Sporting KC vs. Sounders: Seattle eyes huge 3rd straight win
Seattle Sounders FC hosts Sporting Kansas City at Lumen Field in Seattle on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 9:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV. In Sporting KC vs. Sounders, Seattle tries to protect the Western Conference’s final playoff spot against the West’s last-place team.
Seattle (9-9-8, 35 points) has won two straight after snapping a 13-match winless run. Sporting KC (6-17-3, 21 points) sits 15th in the West with a minus-32 goal differential, according to ESPN’s MLS standings. The match was moved from Sept. 9 because the Seattle Seahawks hosted the NFL season opener at Lumen Field.
Sporting KC vs. Sounders game information
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 1
- Time: 9:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. CT)
- Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle
- TV/Streaming: Apple TV
- 2026 meeting: 1-1 draw on May 2 in Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City outlook
Sporting KC’s last five: losses to Vancouver (3-0) and FC Dallas (4-3), a 3-1 win over LAFC, a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia and a 2-0 win at Houston on Saturday, Sept. 26, per ESPN. Its 6-17-3 record and 63 goals allowed are the worst in MLS, a reflection of a defense that has struggled all season.
The Houston win snapped a five-game road losing streak and a 25-game shutout drought, according to Sporting KC. Calvin Harris has four goals and six assists, and Andre Luiz also has four goals. The club noted it has taken no points from its last eight trips to Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, getting outscored 24-4.
Harris, 26, joined Sporting KC as a free agent after five seasons with FC Cincinnati and the Colorado Rapids. Sporting KC will be without Ruben Ramos Jr., who is at a U.S. under-20 training camp.
Seattle Sounders FC outlook
Seattle drew five straight before beating Real Salt Lake 2-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 23, its first win since May 13, according to CBS Sports. Danny Musovski and Albert Rusnák scored, and Andrew Thomas earned his eighth clean sheet. The Sounders followed with a 3-1 win over Minnesota United on Sept. 26.
Before that, the draws piled up: 0-0 against the New York Red Bulls on Sept. 5, 1-1 at the LA Galaxy on Sept. 12 and 3-3 at Colorado on Sept. 19, per ESPN. Seattle has scored 33 goals and allowed 34 in 26 league matches, while Sporting KC has scored 31 and allowed 63.
Rusnák leads the team with 12 assists to go with four goals, and Jordan Morris has nine career goals against Sporting KC, per a Sporting KC match preview. Seattle will be without midfielder Hassani Dotson, who is suspended for yellow-card accumulation, forward Dejan Joveljić, who is with Serbia’s national team, and Snyder Brunell, who is at the U.S. under-20 camp.
Key Sporting KC vs. Sounders matchup
Sporting KC’s leaky defense against Seattle’s revived attack should decide Sporting KC vs. Sounders. The Sounders have scored five goals in two games, while Sporting KC conceded four in each of its last two losses, to Dallas and Philadelphia. If Rusnák finds the space he had against Real Salt Lake and Minnesota, Seattle can exploit a back line that has given up bunches all season.
What to watch in Sporting KC vs. Sounders
Seattle sits ninth in the West, the final wild-card spot, three points ahead of 10th-place Portland, which has played one more game, per ESPN. A win Thursday would give the Sounders three straight wins and a cushion in a crowded race. Sporting KC is playing for pride, but the Houston result showed it can still beat a team fighting for position.
For more soccer coverage, see our St. Louis-Red Bulls preview, a look at whether the Sounders were being sold and our soccer page.