TUCSON, Ariz. — After a week in Chula Vista, Calif., in which the Seattle Sounders focused mostly on getting fit before the start of the 2018 season, this week in Arizona the focus is all about tactics.
The Sounders are tinkering with an alternate lineup and a different formation, a trial process to make sure they’re game-ready for their first competitive action in three weeks against Salvadoran side Santa Tecla in the CONCACAF Champions League. Seattle has two friendlies coming up against fellow MLS sides the Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew SC, two fixtures that will be vitally important for the team to ramp up its intensity.