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Motagua host the Seattle Sounders at the Olímpico Metropolitano in the first leg of the round of 16 in the CONCACAF Champions League on Thursday.
The hosts finished as the runners-up in the CONCACAF League in December to secure their place in the competition. This will be the first appearance in the Champions League for the hosts since the 2020 edition when they were eliminated from the round of 16.
The visiting side secured a place after finishing second in the MLS Western Conference standings. They last contested the competition in the 2018 edition as they were eliminated from the quarter-finals.
Four teams from the MLS are taking part at this stage of the competition. New England Revolution have made it to the quarter-finals after their opponents, Cavaly withdrew from the competition.
Motagua vs Seattle Sounders Head-to-Head
This will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides.
Motagua form guide (all competitions): D-W-W-D-L
Seattle Sounders form guide (MLS Preseason): D-L-D-D
Motagua vs Seattle Sounders Team News
Motagua
There are no reported injuries or suspension concerns for the hosts here. Newly-signed defender Denil Maldonado is ineligible to play here.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Denil Maldonado
Seattle Sounders
The MLS side have traveled to Honduras with an almost full-strength squad. Nonetheless, there are some injury concerns for the visiting side. Josh Atencio, Danny Leyva and Jimmy Medranda have not trained in the pre-season and might not feature here.
Nicolás Lodeiro featured in the pre-season against LA Galaxy following a lengthy injury spell. He faces a late fitness test ahead of this game. Nouhou Tolo has joined the squad following the AFCON and is in contention to start here. He has not featured for the club this year though.
Injured: Josh Atencio, Danny Leyva, Jimmy Medranda
Doubtful: Nicolás Lodeiro, Nouhou Tolo
Suspended: None
Motagua vs Seattle Sounders Predicted XI
Motagua Predicted XI (4-3-3): Jonathan Rougier (GK): Carlos Melendez, Marcelo Pereira, Omar Elvir, Marcelo Santos; Juan Delgado, Jonathan Nuñez, Diego Auzqui; Roberto Moreira, Ivan Lopez, Jesse Moncada
Seattle Sounders Predicted XI (4-5-1): Stefan Frei (GK); Kelyn Rowe, Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Jackson Ragen, Joe Hafferty; Albert Rusnák, Sota Kitahara, Reed Baker-Whiting, Jack-Ryan Jeremiah, Léo Chú; Raúl Ruidíaz
Motagua vs Seattle Sounders Prediction
Motagua played out a draw in their previous league outing against arch-rivals Olimpia. The Seattle Sounders will be playing their first competitive game of the year and might settle for a draw here.
Prediction: Motagua 1-1 Seattle Sounders
