Even before Thursday's kickoff, Sunday's game was on fan's minds. You saw it in the questions, asked Tuesday and Wednesday, about who Giovanni Savarese would start. It was in the reactions to the announced XI, and in the worries about whether Thursday's starters could recover.
That's one way you know a derby is coming. The Portland Timbers could, on a Wednesday, be hosting a rematch of last year's MLS Cup final against Atlanta United FC, but if a game with Seattle Sounders FC loomed, thoughts would skip forward on the calendar. Any decision made mid-week would be cast in terms of its effect on Seattle.