Lodeiro returns to Seattle as Sounders fight to avoid Dynamo disaster | OneFootball

Not every under-the-radar game is less consequential. Seattle Sounders and Houston Dynamo meet this Saturday at Lumen Field with recent bitter history, a familiar face switching sides, key absences on both sides, and a storyline ready to simmer from the opening whistle. Is it a rematch? Yes. And yet it's also a game that could shape the mindset of two squads still walking a tightrope early in the 2025 MLS season.

Lodeiro comes home, but on the other side

There is one name overshadowing the pre-kickoff discussion, and that is Nicolás Lodeiro. The Uruguayan midfielder returns to Lumen Field for the first time as a visitor, after eight seasons wearing the Sounders' colors, where he conquered two MLS Cups and a Concacaf Champions League title. Now in orange, Lodeiro returns to the pitch he knows best, but with a different mission: quieting the cheers that once belonged to him. Reunions are like this. And not just for the fans.

Lodeiro has appeared in four games for Houston since joining the team, starting two and tallying a goal. He's no longer the centerpiece he once was, but his name still carries weight. And his return to his old stomping grounds gives a game that already had emotion invested. After all, the last Sounders-Dynamo showdown ended in a penalty shootout, with Seattle barely surviving the 2024 playoffs. That one still stings in Houston and the locker room hasn't forgotten.

Sounders trying to recover after double whammy

Seattle's season start has been less than ideal. A paltry four points from four games has them 10th in the West. And the mood? It's one of emotional repair. The defeat in their recent loss to St. Louis CITY SC still smarts, and the 4-1 aggregate thrashing at the hands of Cruz Azul in the Concachampions scarred. The only silver lining: for the first time in 2025, the club will finally have a week's rest between games, after grinding through eight games in just 25 days.

Dynamo still winless in 2025

Houston Dynamo, meanwhile, is still awaiting its first win of the season. They've lost three at home and earned one point away in their first four MLS games of 2025. They did beat El Salvador in a midweek friendly, but in the league, the win scoreboard is still stuck on zero. There are reasons for optimism, however.

Dynamo is straightforward, physical, and blends veteran pros with young upstarts. One-time Argentina youth international Ezequiel Ponce tallied his first goal of the year last weekend. Recently signed midfielder Jack McGlynn, who has already received a call-up to the U.S. Men's National Team, notched his first assist. The parts are there. It's time they begin to tally.

History and revenge

Since 2017, Seattle has lost just once to Houston in 16 matches. That's dominance, pure and simple. But what both teams remember most is that playoff series. Two ties, two heart-stopping penalty shootouts, and Seattle slipping through 5-4 and 7-6. That kind of heartbreak doesn't just disappear. Anyone who's ever suffered that kind of loss knows, a rematch doesn't just bring back memories. It brings back fuel.

Houston knows they've never won in Seattle. Not once. But they also know their opposition is vulnerable, worn out, and missing key players. If there's ever a moment to change that, it's now. Meanwhile, the Sounders have something to prove, to their fans, to the standings, and maybe most of all, to themselves. A home win could reverse everything at a moment when confidence has been in short supply.