Sounders-Whitecaps FC Preview

With Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins, the Seattle Sounders own the star power in the Northwest.

The Vancouver Whitecaps, though, own the better record.

Battling for the Western Conference lead in the early going, Vancouver hosts a Sounders team that's looking to get back on track Saturday night.

Seattle (5-3-1) scored seven goals during a three-game winning streak that ended with a 3-2 loss at Columbus last Saturday.

Dempsey scored twice to move into a tie for the league lead with seven, but the Sounders were unable to fend off a Columbus team that registered 13 shots on goal, tied for the most in MLS this season.

"We had a good run up until today, so we'll just look at the tape and learn from it," defender Chad Marshall said. "There's not anything we need to drastically change. We'll just tweak some stuff and move on."

Adjustments are needed on the defensive side, which has been inconsistent. The Sounders have twice surrendered three goals in a loss, but have yielded only three goals over their other seven contests.

"You can't get too high, and you can't get too low," coach Sigi Schmid said. "We're all right. We're a good road team. ... We've just got to get our legs back, get some good training in."

Martins, held off the scoresheet last Saturday, has six goals. His status for this contest is uncertain after getting X-rays for an undisclosed injury Thursday.

Even with a healthy Martins, Seattle faces a challenge against Vancouver's David Ousted, who made a remarkable save en route to his league-leading sixth clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Philadelphia last Saturday.

The Whitecaps (6-3-2) are allowing 0.82 goals per game, the second lowest mark in MLS.

"I feel that the amount of clean sheets that we have and the defensive work that we're doing should definitely get the league's attention," Ousted told the league's official website. "It's a great thing that we can be as consistent that we are. It's not just down to me, it's not just down to the back four, it's down to the team."

Vancouver is 1-0-1 against Portland this year to lead the race for the Cascadia Cup. The Whitecaps have won the trophy the past two seasons.

Vancouver has gone 4-0-1 in the last five meetings with Seattle. The Whitecaps are 2-1-3 at home in the series all-time.

"Our motivation is looking at the standings and they're ahead of us," Schmid said. "Last year is last year. It's done, it's over. We can't get that back. We can't get the Cascadia Cup back from last year. It's all about this year and (the Whitecaps are) ahead of us this year."