The Seattle Sounders continue their three game road trip this Saturday when they take on the Columbus Crew at MAPFRE Stadium. This will be their fourth road match in their last five.

Currently the Sounders are on a three game winning streak and have won four of their last five.  Their last defeat came on April 12th to the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Crew was just recently cooled off this past weekend when they lost on the road to D.C. United 2-0. Heading into their match with United, the Crew had scored seven goals in their last 180 minutes. They will be looking to get back on the score sheet.

This match will feature two of the most dangerous attacks in the league at the moment. The Sounders are led by Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey in the goal scoring department. The Crew are led by Kei Kamara’s five goals while Justin Meram and Ethan Finlay are close behind with three and two respectively.

The Sounders have greatly improved their defense this year. Coming into the 2015 MLS season, many were wondering what the Sounders did to improve their defense. The only real changes were Tyrone Mears replacing DeAndre Yedlin, Brad Evans filling in next to Chad Marshall. Lately Dylan Remick has overtaken incumbent Leo Gonzalez at the left back position. So three new starters on a much maligned back like looks like trouble for any team no matter how good of a team.  Since giving up three goals to a 10 man San Jose team back on March 14th, the Sounders have given up only three goals in their next six and that includes three clean sheets during that time.

The Crew will be looking to put as much pressure on the Sounders midfield and back line. There have been times throughout the year that the Sounders have struggled when pressed by the opposing team. The Earthquakes used it to perfection when they played in Seattle early in the season. If the Crew can frustrate the Seattle defense, it could be a long night in Columbus for the Sounders.

The Crew defense will have to deal with the best forward duo in MLS. Martins and Dempsey put on a show last week at Yankee Stadium against New York City FC. The Crew’s midfield will need to make sure they don’t get too far up the field or the Sounders will kill them on the counter-attack. Seattle is extremely good at absorbing pressure time after time and at the last minute hitting an outlet pass. The next thing you know is you have Martins, Dempsey or both running at an outnumbered defense and a sometimes helpless goalkeeper.

KEYS TO THE GAME

The Sounders need to keep an eye on Kamara and Federico Higuain at all times. They also need to focus on Finlay and Meram. If you ignore them, they will punish you as well. The Crew needs to limit Martins and Dempsey’s touches. The problem being, it only takes one for them to score a goal on you or another player steps up and puts the ball into the back of the net. Stefan Frei will need to be on his toes again. Since the end of last year, Frei has arguably been one of the best 'keepers in the league. So may disagree with that statement, but look at the numbers. He already has four clean sheets this year and six in his last 13 played if you go back to the last game of the 2014 MLS regular season, including playoffs.

In the end, this should be a good match for the fans that love to see awesome goals scored. You never know what you are going to get with Martins, Dempsey, Meram and Higuain on the pitch at the same time.