Seattle Sounders boss Brian Schmetzer alluded that he could be forced into making changes to his team after they progressed to the semi-finals of the Leagues Cup.

The Sounders overcame Danny Musovski's 76th-minute red card to beat Puebla 4-3 in a penalty shootout, having been held to a goalless draw in normal time. 

But that has given Schmetzer a selection headache ahead of their return to MLS action this weekend, with Sporting Kansas City the visitors to Lumen Field next. 

They face the LA Galaxy in the final four of the Leagues Cup next Thursday, and find themselves fourth in the Western Conference with eight games of their season left. 

"We're going to have to make some changes because there is some fixture congestion," Schmetzer said. "Look, the Minnesota game that we lost was due to the travel we did.

"We had the ball for the majority of the time, so the total sprinting distance was less, but in midweek, you will get the data that the players did not run as much, but at the end of the day it is the mental fatigue that was the most important.

"The game in midweek was a hard game mentally. We are going to try and recover mentally, and look to move on in our season and end in the best way possible."

Sporting Kansas, meanwhile, have seen their hopes of finishing in the playoffs take a hit, having gone five league games without a win, which includes a defeat to the Sounders. 

Kerry Zavagnin's side were beaten 3-1 by Orlando City SC in their last MLS encounter, despite going in at half-time level thanks to Dejan Joveljic's 25th-minute equaliser. 

And the Sporting Kansas boss believes the Sounders' recent run has been aided by their displays at the Club World Cup, despite them being knocked out in the group stage. 

"I think that Seattle have always had a great organisation," Zavagnin said. "They have had a lot of great teams over the years.

"I think this year, coming off that summer competition and playing against some of the best teams in the world, they entered our space with a lot of confidence.

"We saw that first hand. I think they are a better possession team than they have been in previous years. They have some really good players despite the fact they have interchanged a lot, but that is a credit to their coaching staff and what they have done.

"Like every time you go to Seattle, you are going to expect a very good team in a very good environment. We are going to have to be very good to get a result there."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Seattle Sounders – Cristian Roldan

Roldan completed 91 passes against Minnesota United on Saturday, his third-most in a regular-season match and most since 2019 (109 vs. LA Galaxy).

He also created five chances for team-mates in the match, tied for his second most in a regular-season match.

Sporting Kansas – Dejan Joveljic

Joveljic has 14 goals for Sporting Kansas this season after scoring 15 for LA Galaxy last year, and will be keen to add to his tally here.

Indeed, he could become the third player in MLS history to score 15 goals in consecutive seasons with different teams, after Raul Diaz Arce in 1996-97 and Evander in 2024-25.

MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN

The Sounders have won back-to-back matches in all competitions against Sporting Kansas, including a 3-2 away win on July 12, for the first time in over a decade, since posting 1-0 wins in 2013 and 2014. Their only longer winning streak over them in all competitions was a six-match run between 2009 and 2011.

Seattle have also lost only one of their last 16 regular-season home matches (W9 D6) dating back to last September. The Sounders have scored multiple goals in 10 of those 16 matches, including scoring three times in each of their last two league matches at Lumen Field.

Sporting Kansas, meanwhile, have lost three straight matches for the first time under interim coach Zavagnin. They have also lost 14 regular-season matches for the fourth straight year after doing so just four times in the club's first 26 MLS seasons.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Seattle Sounders – 68.2%

Draw – 17.6%

Sporting Kansas – 14.2%