The stage is set for another classic match between the Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers on Sunday afternoon from Royal Brougham Park. Every point is critical now as we have entered the stretch run to the Major League Soccer postseason. The Western Conference is bunched together in the middle with just eight points separating third place from ninth place.

Smack dab in the middle of that grouping is the home side. Seattle currently sits (as of Saturday morning) in seventh place in the West just three points behind FC Dallas and the San Jose Earthquakes. The Sounders are coming off a disappointing league loss last Saturday away to Real Salt Lake where they just looked flat for the ninety minutes.

Adding insult to injury, the Sounders played a midweek CONCACAF Champions League match away to Olimpia at the Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Seattle came away with a 1-0 defeat in a match they were disappointed to leave without a result. The team played well considering they started a majority of their reserves and young talent opting to leave players like Chad Marshall, Brad Evans, Obafemi Martins, and Nelson Valdez in the Emerald City.

The excuses though have stopped as the team turns their attention to the arch-rival Portland Timbers. “We are going to turn the page,” Sigi Schmid told the media after training on Friday. “It’s not going to be a thing where we’re going to think about it being a great day. It’s going to be a great day. We’re going to turn the page, we’re going to get after them and we’re going to play very well.”

Schmid was also asked about the statuses of forward Clint Dempsey and midfielder Osvaldo Alonso; both of whom have missed a good amount of time recently due to injury. The Seattle manager did not lift the spirits of the fans though as he simply said, “I don’t know.”

Both players have improved significantly during recent training sessions according to reports but it is unlikely that either will see the field on Sunday. Could we be in for a surprise inclusion of one or both? Your guess is as good as any at this point.

Portland will also be dealing with player absences in the middle of the park. Midfielder Diego Chara will be serving the first of a two match suspension as a result of his red card offense last Friday night against the Houston Dynamo. Chara was sent off in the match but the Disciplinary Committee added another game on top of that due to the “violent conduct.”

Midfielder Will Johnson is also likely to miss Sunday’s match. Johnson has been dealing with a sore leg recently which has been speculated to be as a result of his broken leg from last season. Caleb Porter told the media on Friday, "You could see in the last few games that he was not completely himself in terms of getting around the park. He knows that and we see that. It is nothing to be alarmed about, but it is just a matter of continuing to still deal with the cumulative effects of playing ninety minute matches week in and week out."

The Timbers come into the match off of a thrilling 2-2 draw with the Dynamo last Friday night. Darlington Nagbe and Lucas Melano each scored in the final 15 minutes to secure a crucial point at Providence Park for Portland.

For more information on this match, check out VAVEL USA soccer editor Chris Blakely’s interview with Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times and Jamie Goldberg of The Oregonian right here.