Entering the current stretch of three matches in nine days, Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid knew he would need to rotate players to keep the best possible team on the field. However, the 11 he will put on the field on Wednesday night as Seattle hosts FC Dallas wasn’t likely on his list of potential lineups as he looked down the calendar.
Brad Evans played left back for about 35 minutes on Saturday in a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union. Sigi Schmid saw enough out of his captain to put Evans back in that role again on Wednesday against FC Dallas while Leo Gonzalez (hamstring) and Dylan Remick (ankle) both nurse injuries.
Zach Scott will make his first start of the season at center back along with last week’s hero, Chad Marshall. DeAndre Yedlin will stay in the starting lineup on the right in front of goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
With Evans shifted out of the midfield, Schmid has Marco Pappa and Lamar Neagle flanking Osvaldo Alonso and Gonzalo Pineda. At forward, Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins will look to continue their dominating performance up top this season that has seen the duo combine for 12 goals and seven assists in Seattle’s first nine matches.
Wednesday’s match will also mark the final home appearance for Dempsey before he departs for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He will be called in to the U.S. National Team camp that opens on May 14, a camp that may also include Evans and Yedlin.
Seattle’s bench is Marcus Hahnemann, Jalil Anibaba, Djimi Traore, Micheal Azira, Andy Rose, Kenny Cooper and Chad Barrett.
Sounders FC XI: Frei, Yedlin, Marshall, Scott, Evans, Pappa, Alonso, Pineda, Neagle, Dempsey, Martins.
