The Seattle Sounders head to Chester, PA to take on the Philadelphia Union for a midweek clash. Both teams are coming off losses from the weekend. The Sounders are coming off a 2-0 defeat at home to the San Jose Earthquakes. The Union got embarrassed in Carson, CA by the LA Galaxy 5-1 on Saturday night. Both teams are looking to bounce to back on Wednesday night.

The Sounders are taking the cross country flight missing four key players. Clint Dempsey will be serving the second of his three match suspension. Brad Evans came out of the last game after the first half and is more than likely questionable for the match against the Union. Obafemi Martins, Chad Barrett and Osvaldo Alonso will not be making the trip according to Sounder at Heart. The trio is trying to recover from injuries sustained the last few weeks. Martins will be out for another five to six weeks from an adductor injury. Barrett hasn’t played since May 31st after he injured his hamstring. Alonso is also trying to recover from a hamstring injury as well.

The Sounders will have to rely on Lamar Neagle at forward and possibly Victor Mansaray or Darwin Jones as a second forward if they make the trip. The last few times the Sounders have played without Dempsey, Martins and Barrett, the Sounders have gone with one forward at the top. Neagle has been that lone forward and has failed to score for the Sounders. The Sounders have a ton of talented players on the roster and they need someone to step up and fill the void while the other players recover from their respective injuries.

Luckily it appears the Sounders are catching the Union at the correct time. They are playing at home in front of their fans, but this is nowhere the same team they faced in Seattle last May or even the team they faced during the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final last September. The Union has lost their last two matches by a combined score of 7-2, but have shown glimpses of the team they can be by defeating Columbus Crew 3-0 and current Supporters Shield leaders D.C. United 1-0. Their last two matches at home, the Union has won by a combined score of 4-0. Another thing the Union have going for them, they have never lost to the Sounders at PPL Park during league play.

If the Sounders have any hope of repeating as shield winners, they need to pick up a vital three points on the road. Anything less than a point on the road can be viewed as a disappointed with the way the Union is playing as of late.

PROJECTED LINEUP

As much as yours truly would love to see the Sounders come out with two forwards, it probably won’t happen. In a perfect world, the Sounders would come out with this lineup.

Frei

Mears-Scott-Marshall-Remick

Pappa-Azira-Rose-Thomas

Neagle-Jones/Mansaray

That being said, this is probably how the Sounders will start the game.

Frei

Mears-Scott-Marshall-Remick

Roldan-Azira

Pappa-Rose-Thomas

Neagle

When it comes to predicting what Sigi Schmid will do, it’s a crap shoot. Sometimes it makes you wonder if Sigi knows what he really wants to do.

PREDICTION

This writer usually tries to shy away from doing predictions, but the Sounders need this and there is a feeling that the Sounders will pull this out somehow. Stefan Frei’s play, along with the back line, will be key in this match up. That being said, the Sounders should win this one 2-0.