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Sporting Kansas City-Sounders Preview

Chad Barrett has gone from little-used veteran to having a prominent role as one of the Seattle Sounders' main offensive threats nurses an injury.

Sporting Kansas City has been forced to overcome some health issues of its own.

Barrett is expected to get his second straight start in place of Obafemi Martins as Seattle seeks an eighth victory in nine meetings with visiting Sporting KC on Saturday night.

Martins' six goals are the second on the club to Clint Dempsey's seven, but a tibial contusion sidelined him for last Saturday's 2-0 win over Vancouver.

Barrett filled in alongside Dempsey in his first start since March 28, scoring both goals while playing in just his fifth match of the season. Coach Sigi Schmid said it's unlikely Martins will be able to return for this contest, giving Barrett another opportunity as the Sounders (6-3-1) seek a fifth victory in six games.

The 30-year-old forward played the hero in the last meeting with Sporting KC - Barrett's first match as a Sounder - as he came on in the 78th minute and gave Seattle a 1-0 win March 8, 2014, with a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Seattle is 7-0-1 against Kansas City since dropping the first-ever meeting in 2009.

"My main objective is just to come in and help the team and fill the void that Oba left. That's a big void to fill, but I think I did a pretty good job of it (against Vancouver)," Barrett told the club's official website. "It seems like we have (Sporting's) number, but we definitely don't want to leave it for late-goal dramatics again."

Sporting KC (4-2-5) took the drama out of Wednesday's match against New England with a four-goal spurt over 17 minutes that held up for a 4-2 victory. Krisztian Nemeth had two goals and an assist, Benny Feilhaber scored and added his MLS-high seventh assist and Dom Dwyer also scored.

Kansas City improved to 2-0-2 since losing to Los Angeles on April 18, doing so with just 17 available players due to a plethora of injuries. Midfielder Graham Zusi (concussion) and defenders Marcel de Jong (left hip muscle strain) and Seth Sinovic (concussion) were just a few who sat out.

Zusi and de Jong are probable against Seattle, while Sinovic is listed as out.

"We take every game that's coming up as our most important, not looking at the next," coach Peter Vermes said. "That is something that I'm proud of, that we have that focus to be able to do that. Especially in a time when we're beat up a little bit."

Sporting is coming off a quick turnaround, and Schmid noted Vermes slowed the tempo in Kansas City's last road game, a 1-all draw with D.C. on May 9.

"They might try to take the air out of the game a little bit," Schmid said. "They've had some injuries and we're not sure how many of their guys will make it back. We'll have to see if we can take advantage of that."

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