Toronto FC Preview

First off, here is the broadcast information if you will not be at the game.

04/30/11, 7:00 PM

KONG 6/16, 97.3 KIRO FM, La Gran D 99.3 FM

Toronto is an interesting team. They only have 1 win this season, at home over Portland. When they have lost, they let in a good number of goals. 3-0 loss to DC United, and 4-2 to Vancouver. Both games were on the road. They have 4 draws, of which three are 1-1 and one 0-0 to the LA Galaxy. They don’t appear to be a great road team and also don’t seem to pose much of an offensive threat.

It looks like they play in a 4-5-1 formation that turns into a 4-3-3 when they attack. When looking at their players, it’s hard to peg one guy as someone to watch out for, because they keep rotating their lineup from game to game. Also worth noting is Tony Tchani is suspended for this game for the 2 yellows he picked up last week. They have speed on the wings, so our outside backs will be tasked with shutting down their flank play.

When looking at the Sounders, they are numerous questions going into this game.

Who replaces Zakuani, and how does the team respond to playing without him? My guess is that either Alvaro Fernandez or Erik Friberg will slide into his space for the time being. Over time, I think players like Miguel Montano, Mike Fucito, David Estrada and Lamar Neagle will get a shot as well, but will probably have to prove something as a substitute first.

Also, word out of the Sounders camp is that O’Brian White had surgery for a blood clot Wednesday night so he is out indefinitely. The obvious move is to bring Nate Jaqua on for him, but we are now really lacking offensive depth. It may not be a big deal, but this week we lost 2 players that have combined for 4 goals and 4 assists.

Ultimately, I think it’s time for Montero to step it up a notch and start knocking in some goals. Talent wise, he is a player capable of scoring 15 goals a season, but he needs to start producing at a better rate. Having another creative attacking player like Rosales should help pull some pressure off of him.

Defensively for this game I have a few questions. Will Tyson Wahl start in place of Leo Gonzalez again? Will Ianni start instead of Parke again? I don’t know if Sigi was just sending a message to these players to pick up their game, or if they may be losing their starting slots. I think Gonzalez is the better defender between himself and Tyson Wahl. However, Gonzalez is losing his speed and is susceptible to quick attacking players.

At the end of the day, this is a very winnable game for the Sounders. A loss in my eyes is unacceptable at this point. Maybe I am a tad bit over the top, but these are games that must be won if we are going to be a team challenging to be one of the best teams in the league, which I think is within our ability. My prediction is a 2-0 win.

Sounders Forever!