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Thanks to an amicable schedule that leaves them without an MLS match over the weekend, the Seattle Sounders will be able to devote their entire attention to their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Liga MX’s Chivas de Guadalajara.
The first leg will be played Wednesday in Seattle, with the return leg in Mexico Mar. 14, marking Seattle’s only two matches during that span.
Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan was pleased with the chance to fully focus on the Mexican opponents.
“[The bye is] fantastic in the sense that we’re focused on Champions League at the moment,” Roldan said Tuesday. “We get to key in on their players for two legs and really get to know them. It’s not where we’ll play a team in between and lose focus or lose track of how they’re doing. We have two games right after another. We’ll take that film and discuss it, analyze it and take it into their game.”
In four prior trips to the knockout phase of the Champions League, Seattle has only made it past a Liga MX side once. In the 2012-13 edition of the tournament, the Sounders beat Tigres with a dramatic 3-1 second-leg result at home to advance to the semifinals.
Wednesday’s match will mark Seattle’s third game in six days after a CCL victory over Santa Tecla Mar. 1 and an MLS loss to Los Angeles FC Sunday. Concerns linger over the fitness and fatigue of the squad.
Roldan sounded confident as he reasoned the adrenaline of opportunity would see the team through.
“Things are great for me. It’s another game that we get to play,” Roldan said. “It’s the quarterfinals at this point. We’re six games away from winning a trophy. There aren’t guys that are feeling tired or feeling aches or pains. It’s win or go home at this point.”