Sports Mole previews Sunday’s MLS Playoffs clash between San Diego and Seattle Sounders, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
San Diego will be at the Snapdragon Stadium to welcome Seattle Sounders for their matchday seven MLS clash at the weekend.
The hosts come into this fixture off the back of a 3-2 victory over Los Angeles FC, while the visitors will aim to snap a three-game winless streak in the league.
Match preview
After suffering their first loss of the season against Austin FC, San Diego returned to winning ways with a 3-2 victory over Los Angeles FC last weekend.
The hosts raced into a 3-0 lead inside 40 minutes before Artem Smoliakov and Cengiz Under scored late in the first half to get LAFC back in the game.
However, the hosts held on to claim a victory, which leaves them third in the table with 11 points from six matches, two adrift of the Vancouver Whitecaps, who are top of the Western Conference standings.
Heading into this contest, Mikey Veras will be mindful of recent defensive difficulties, which caused them to ship in four goals in their last couple of fixtures, compared to two conceded in their first four outings of the 2025 MLS season.
Nevertheless, the hosts have scored eight goals in their last four league fixtures, and with half of those recorded at home, SDFC will back themselves for successive wins for the first time this season.
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Having made it to the Western Conference final last term, where they suffered a 1-0 loss against Los Angeles Galaxy, the Seattle Sounders would have hoped for a better start to the 2025 campaign, but that is not their reality.
The Sounders continued to struggle in the new season, with their latest result being a 1-1 draw against San Jose Earthquakes at the PayPal Park.
Brian Schmetzer‘s team were profligate in front of goal in that encounter, managing to convert only one of the nine shots fired throughout the encounter.
With that result, the Rave Green are now winless in four matches across all competitions, earning two draws and suffering two defeats, including a 4-1 hiding at the hands of Mexican side Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions Cup on March 12.
Considering that the visitors have scored only once in their last four league fixtures away from home, the Seattle-based side have their work cut out against a team that remains unbeaten at home this term.
San Diego form (all competitions):
Seattle Sounders form (all competitions):
Team News
San Diego will be without Andres Reyes and Marcus Ingvartsen, who are both sidelined with leg injuries.
Emmanuel Boateng has not featured for the hosts since March 8 due to injury, so he is likely to miss out on this fixture.
Hirving Lozano is close to a return, meaning he could play a part in this encounter if he passes a late fitness test.
Meanwhile, the visitors will have to do battle without the attacking trio of Paul Arriola (knee), Pedro De la Vega (thigh) and Jordan Morris (hamstring), all of whom continue their spells on the sidelines.
Reed Baker-Whiting was on the bench in their last outing, so he is expected to be named in the travelling squad for the fixture at the weekend.
San Diego possible starting lineup:
Dos Santos; McNair, McVey, Negri, Loffelsend; De la Torre, Tverskov, Godoy; Mighten, Valakari, Dreyer
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; Gomez, Ragen, Tolo; Vargas, Paulo; A Roldan, Rothrock, C Roldan, Ferreira; Rusnak
We say: San Diego 2-1 Seattle Sounders
San Diego are enjoying a dream start to their MLS campaign, while the visitors have struggled for consistency. On the evidence of their respective performances, we predict that the home side will earn a 2-1 win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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