The Seattle Sounders visit the Houston Dynamo in an MLS Western Conference matchup at PNC Field.
Seattle clinched their 13th straight postseason berth with a 4-1 victory over Vancouver while Houston is winless in three after a 4-2 defeat to Sporting Kansas City, sitting second-from-bottom in the West.
Team news
Houston will be without Adam Lundqvist, who is out with a lower-body injury. Goalkeeper Marko Maric is also a doubt after suffering a lower leg that has kept him out of several games recently.
Maynor Figueroa, Boniek Garcia, Darwin Ceren and Teenage Hadebe are all back in the side after returning from international duty.
Seattle also gets players back from international play as Raul Ruidiaz, Alex Roldan, Cristian Roldan, Nouhou and Xavier Arreaga will all be in the Sounders' side. Yeimar is suspended due to yellow card accumulation.
Predicted lineups
Houston: Nelson; Valentin, Figueroa, Parker, Junqua; Vera, Corona, Rodriguez; Lassiter, Picault, Baird
Seattle: Frei; Nouhou, Gómez, Arreaga; Medranda, Paulo, Atencio, C. Roldan, A. Roldan; Bruin, Ruidíaz
Ones to watch
Fafa Picault and Maxi Urruti (Houston)
In what has been a terribly disappointing season for the Dynamo, Picault, with 11 goals and five assists and Urruti, scoring six and helping on three, have been the lone bright spots.
Joao Paulo (Seattle)
He dominated against Vancouver, leading the team in touches (99), had an 85 percent passing percentage and led the team forward to attack at every opportunity. Two shots, a key pass, three tackles, two interceptions show how balanced his performance was.
Previous meetings
Seattle extended their winning streak to nine against Houston with a 2-0 win at Lumen Field in July. Kelyn Rowe opened the scoring in the 62nd minute and Ruidiaz clinched all three points with a stoppage-time strike.
How to watch
ESPN+ will have national streaming coverage. In Houston, QuestTexas 55 is the local provider for coverage in Houston. FOX13 Plus and Prime Video carry the action in Seattle. Kickoff is set for 8:30pm Eastern time.