Seattle Sounders v Real Salt Lake: Frei relieved to end winless run after 'taxing' season

Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei believes their win against the Portland Timbers last time out came at an ideal moment, near the conclusion of a "taxing" season.

Pedro de la Vega's first-half strike separated the two rivals at Lumen Field, marking the Sounders' first win since their Leagues Cup triumph at the end of August.

Although they can no longer finish higher than fifth in the Western Conference, the Sounders can guarantee themselves a place in the top five with a win against Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

Frei hopes Seattle can build on their victory against the Timbers after what has been a physically demanding season.

"There are a lot of positives to take from this game," said Frei, reflecting on the win against Portland.

"It comes at a really good time for us. It's been a long year. We started with the CONCACAF Champions League in February.

"Physically, it's been a long year, but mentally, it's been a long year, too, with ups and downs. It's nice that we were able to reward our hard work with a trophy, but those ups and downs are taxing."

"After [winning] the Leagues Cup, coming back into the regular season is difficult," De la Vega added.

"[But] we have players who are used to playing these types of games. That makes everything easier for us to handle. We needed to win this game."

In their penultimate regular-season match, RSL could clinch their place in the postseason with three points.

They come into this match in good form, too, picking up victories against the Colorado Rapids and Austin in their previous two games.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Seattle Sounders – Pedro de la Vega

De la Vega scored his fourth goal of the regular season against Portland, adding to his five assists in 2025.

He is the fifth Seattle player with at least four goals this term, marking the first time since 2022 that the franchise has had five players reach that mark.

Real Salt Lake – Rafael Cabral

Cabral registered three saves against Colorado last time out to bring his 2025 regular-season total to 90.

He is the third goalkeeper in franchise history to record 90 saves in a season, joining Nick Rimando (four times) and Zac MacMath (once).

MATCH PREDICTION – SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN

The Sounders picked up their ninth home league win of 2025 last weekend, defeating their Cascadia rivals Portland.

Seattle are looking to register 10+ home wins in an MLS regular season for the ninth time, which would be a tie for the most in MLS' post-shootout era, alongside FC Dallas and LA Galaxy.

RSL have lost three straight road matches, and 12 of their 21 away games since July 2024 (won four, drawn five).

They have not had a streak of four or more road losses in the same season since a five-game losing streak between August and September 2021.

RSL have earned points in seven of their last eight regular-season meetings with Seattle (won five, drawn two), including a four-game unbeaten run (won two, drawn two).

The only longer unbeaten run in league play between these sides was a six-game streak by the Sounders from September 2011 to June 2013.

In their last six league matches, Seattle have won two, drawn two and lost two. Salt Lake, meanwhile, have won three and lost three in their last six.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Seattle Sounders – 63.4%

Draw – 19.5%

Real Salt Lake – 17.2%