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Sounders-Fire Preview

Sep 24, 2010 - 8:12 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Seattle (10-9-6) at Chicago (6-9-8), 8:00 p.m. EDT

Now that Blaise Nkufo has finally ended his scoring drought, the Seattle Sounders can probably forget about what might have been with Freddie Ljungberg.

The surging Sounders look to complete a sweep of Ljungberg and the slumping Chicago Fire when they visit Toyota Park on Saturday night.

Seattle (10-9-6) has gone 6-1-3 in its last 10 games and won 4-0 at Columbus last Saturday behind Nkufo. The Swiss international scored the first three goals of his MLS career in his sixth league game.

"I'm a striker. That's my job, scoring goals. That's what I've done the last 10 years and I'm here to do that," Nkufo said. "I still need to work harder for myself and to help the team."

Nkufo joined Seattle as a designated player after the World Cup. Ljungberg was the Sounders' first designated player before the 2009 season.

A former Arsenal star, Ljungberg had two goals and nine assists with the Sounders last year before a rocky start to this season. The two-time All-Star midfielder had three assists in 15 games with Seattle, and reports of a rift with the organization proved to be true when he was traded to Chicago (6-9-8) on July 30 for two conditional draft picks.

It's not clear that Ljungberg has helped his new club, with the Fire going 2-4-2 in his appearances. The Swedish star has two assists in that span, and was booed repeatedly in his return to Seattle in a 2-1 loss Aug. 28. Fredy Montero scored twice for the Sounders.

Seattle and San Jose each have 36 points and occupy the final two playoff spots. The Sounders believes they can continue their strong play as Nkufo improves.

"Now he's got the monkey off his back," midfielder Steve Zakuani said. "The finishes were unbelievable. That's what he came here for and we're happy he did it."

While Ljungberg's old club is on the upswing, his new team may miss the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Seattle is one of the teams Chicago is chasing, and the Fire are 10 points back.

"We still have a chance," midfielder Mike Banner said. "There are seven games left (but) we have to start a new season."

Chicago has gone 0-4-2 in its last six MLS matches and failed to score for the third straight time in a 1-0 loss at Real Salt Lake last Saturday.

It's uncertain if Nery Castillo will be available for Chicago. The Mexican forward suffered a hamstring injury in Utah and did not practice Wednesday or Thursday.

"I need to decide if I play with two forwards or only one forward depending on what happens with Nery," coach Carlos de los Cobos said.