Seattle Sounders vs. Vancouver Whitecaps | CONCACAF Champions League Match Preview

Seattle Sounders vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
2015-16 Scotibank CONCACAF Champions League
September 23 | 10 pm ET | CenturyLink Field
TV:  FS2, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet One

Just four days removed from their 3-0 Cascadia Cup-clinching blowout of the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place on Saturday, the Seattle Sounders meet Vancouver once again, this time in a Wednesday night Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League showdown at CenturyLink Field.

Seattle tied Vancouver in their first Group F match at BC Place on Aug. 5, salvaging the draw on a second-half equalizer from Lamar Neagle. Wednesday will be Seattle’s final game in CCL group play, while the Whitecaps still have one more matchup with Honduran side Club Olimpia in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on Oct. 22.

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MUST-WIN FOR SOUNDERS

The Sounders find themselves in a must-win scenario on Wednesday, as anything less than the full three points against Vancouver would spell the end of their CCL run. The do-or-die circumstances, combined with the Whitecaps’ desire to avenge Saturday’s blowout result in MLS play, should make for a high-intensity battle between the Cascadia Cup rivals even if neither team figures to field a full-strength lineup.

“Things are on the line again so we’ll see how this one shakes out,” Neagle said on Monday. “After beating them like that at their place they’re going to want to come back obviously and get some revenge, so it should be a crazy game.”

FAMILIAR FOES

Wednesday will mark the fifth time Seattle and Vancouver have met across all competitions, the most either team will see any opponent this season. Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said he can’t remember a season where he played one opponent this many times since his stint with the LA Galaxy, where he coached from 1999-2004.

“I think one year when I was in LA, we played San Jose a bunch of times,” Schmid said. “In those days, we used to play them four teams a season and we ended up playing them in the playoffs. This is adding up to be five times now and three trips to Vancouver. It’s a little much sometimes. And you could meet in the playoffs and all of the sudden it becomes seven.”

INJURY REPORT

Midfielder Erik Friberg, who sat out Saturday’s game with an injury sustained in training last Friday, should be ready to go by Wednesday according to Schmid. Osvaldo Alonso is still nursing a leg injury he sustained on Saturday but he would have been unlikely to play Wednesday anyway as the Sounders try and balance CCL play with their MLS schedule.

On the Whitecaps side of things, the team can boast a mostly-clean bill of health. The only ongoing injury concern is the health of playmaker Pedro Morales, who left Vancouver's Sept. 9 clash against Colorado with a tight hamstring and has not featured since.

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PLAYERS TO WATCH

LAMAR NEAGLE, SEATTLE: Neagle has only managed four goals this year, but one thing that can’t be disputed is his durability. He’s played in 29 of Seattle’s 30 MLS games in 2015 and every US Open Cup and CCL game. Look for the Sounders to lean on him once again on Wednesday with Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins likely to rest up.

KIANZ FROESE, VANCOUVER: The 19-year-old was Vancouver’s lone goalscorer in their last CCL match against Olimpia, notching the go-ahead tally in the 42nd minute to send the Whitecaps to victory. He only has nine career appearances so far for the Whitecaps in MLS play, but Vancouver coach Carl Robinson could call on the youngster to try and make an impact once again on Wednesday.