Sounders-Earthquakes Preview
The Seattle Sounders won't have coach Sigi Schmid but hope Clint Dempsey will be available.
Dempsey is listed as questionable ahead of the Sounders' attempt at a third consecutive win Saturday night when they visit the San Jose Earthquakes.
Schmid was in the hospital for four days for an undisclosed reason and wasn't on the sideline for a 2-1 home win over Toronto FC last Saturday. Schmid said he felt "good" when he returned to practice Thursday, but doctors wanted him to stay in the area for the next week.
"I'm very confident in (acting coach Brian Schmetzer) and the rest of the staff," Schmid said. "It's just much harder watching a game on TV than it is watching it live."
Dempsey was reportedly held out of practice Thursday because of a nagging hamstring problem. The forward had the tiebreaking goal in the 77th minute and an assist against Toronto after missing a month with the injury.
Obafemi Martins scored his fourth goal in four games since returning from a groin injury.
Seattle (13-13-2) will next try to avoid extending its club-record road losing streak to eight in its first visit to the Earthquakes' Avaya Stadium. The Sounders are hoping a new setting will bring better results as they've lost their past four visits to San Jose and haven't scored in the last three.
They enter in fourth place in the Western Conference but just three points ahead of the seventh-place Earthquakes (11-11-5). Seattle is tied on points with Sporting Kansas City and Portland but has two more wins than both clubs.
San Jose is 3-0-1 in the last four meetings and have won both this season in Seattle. Matias Perez Garcia had a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory June 20, and Chris Wondolowski scored twice in a 3-2 win March 14.
The Earthquakes will likely get midfielders Anibal Godoy, Sanna Nyassi and Marc Pelosi back from international duty for this matchup.
"We've beaten (Seattle) twice already this year. It's not going to be easy, but we do like our chances with some guys returning to the lineup and us playing at home," defender Clarence Goodson told the team's official website. "We've beaten some very quality opponents, so we know we can get it done."
The Earthquakes had a 447-minute shutout streak - longest in MLS in 2015 - and a season-high four-game win streak both snapped with last Saturday's 2-1 home loss to Philadelphia.
Wondolowski gave his team a lead with a penalty kick in the 64th minute, but Conor Casey struck twice in the final 16 minutes of regulation.
Wondolowski, among the league leaders with 13 goals, has four in his past four games. He's scored three times in his last three games against Seattle and has nine goals in 15 career matchups.
Seattle forward Chad Barrett is questionable because of an ailing hamstring, and midfielder Osvaldo Alonso will sit out after receiving his sixth yellow card of the season last weekend.