It was a box office clash when Seattle Reign last faced Washington Spirit in an NWSL tie. A staggering 34,130 rushed to Seattle’s home in October 2023 and set the all-time NWSL attendance record. Lumen Field is now hosting the Spirit in their 2024 league opener, on Sunday. Interestingly, this will be the 3rd straight time Seattle and Washington face each other in an opener. Besides the home advantage, SR has been better poised to score goals. The Reign has scored six goals in its last five matches. Meanwhile, the Spirit has managed only two goals in five games. Fuelling the capital-based team’s misfiring woes, marquee striker Trinity Rodman is not traveling to Seattle.

She was suspended for the opening game after receiving a red card in her last NWSL match against North Carolina Courage. With Rodman’s absence confirmed, let’s see who else on either side is going to miss the headline clash.

Seattle Reign vs Washington Spirit: Injuries and Expected Lineups

Seattle Reign injuries

Reign’s defender Alana Cook will miss the 2024 NWSL opener because of a knee injury. Star forward Veronica Latsko has also joined Reign’s injury list, as she is nursing a leg injury.

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Seattle Reign: Expected starting XI

(4-2-3-1): Claudia Dickey; Lauren Barnes, Ryanne Brown, Phoebe McClernon, Sofia Huerta; Olivia Athens, Jess Fishlock; Angharad James, Jordyn Huitema, Bethany Balcer; McKenzie Weinert

Washington Spirit injuries

Apart from missing Trinity Rodman to a suspension, Spirit will also miss its striker Civana Kuhlmann on Sunday. Washington has added the 24-year-old to their season-ending injury list because of a knee problem.

Washington Spirit starting XI

(4-2-3-1): Aubrey Kingsbury; Casey Krueger, Anna Heilferty, Kate Wiesner, Gabrielle Carle; Croix Bethune, Hal Hershfelt; Paige Metayer, Brittany Ratcliffe, Makenna Morris; Lena Silano.

Seattle vs Washington: H2H, prediction, and streaming details

Head-to-Head stats

The two teams have met 30 times previously. Seattle Reign has won 13 of those matches. Eight games ended in a draw and Washington Spirit has won nine times against Seattle. Notably, Reign has won nine of those times at home. On the other hand, Spirit has won the last two openers, which Seattle played on the road.

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Prediction

Seattle Reign had found difficulties in scoring consistently in the first half of last season. Meanwhile, Megan Rapinoe‘s absence is also a worry on their frontline. But the Reign has signed 8 new players to up their game this season. Besides, considering Seattle has the home advantage and Washington is missing two forwards- Rodman and Kuhlmann  — we predict the Reign to win 1-0 in the opening game.

Where to watch the Seattle-Washington opener?

The match will kick off at 3 PM PT/6 PM ET on Sunday. Fans in and outside the US can live-stream the match on NWSL+.

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