In the nine seasons where the higher seed has hosted MLS Cup, the road team has never been the betting favorite. That changes tonight when the Seattle Sounders will visit Mapfre Stadium to take on the Columbus Crew. The Sounders bring a high-flying offense that is at full strength, while the Crew are a possession-oriented team that will be missing some key components. This promises to be an interesting match and these are some of the things that will determine the winner:

How will Crew cope with absences?

There’s no way around it, the Crew were dealt a tough hand when Darlington Nagbe and Pedro Santos weren’t medically cleared to play.