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Sandy • Over 53,000 clad in their familiar rave green will rain down boos upon Real Salt Lake on Sunday afternoon in Seattle.

Over 53,000 will scream and chant and eventually erupt if the championship-or-bust Sounders collect three points, too.

A victory over RSL at CenturyLink Field not only solidifies a playoff spot for the Sounders, but bumps its own streak of MLS Cup postseason appearances up another notch. A loss and Seattle's playoff streak could end at six.

That is a feeling RSL now knows all too well. Its own postseason streak ended at seven when Nat Borchers and the Portland Timbers buried RSL's long-shot aspirations on Oct. 14.

What stands in front of RSL on Sunday is a match that holds no statistical matter. Some may call it a pointless.

But not Tony Beltran. The RSL right back, as one would expect, is vexed with what transpired in 2015. And even if he doesn't make the trip to Seattle or isn't in the starting lineup, the 28-year-old defender can see how it'd be easy to hang heads. He spoke this week how some could feel bad for themselves and already be halfway home mentally, on their flight to wherever once the season is officially over.

"It'll be a test," he said. "I'm glad it's sold out. I want to be in this situation. I would love to knock Seattle out [of the playoffs]."

Who will be out there to take said test remains to be seen.

Captain Kyle Beckerman is out due to yellow card accumulation. RSL coach Jeff Cassar said Sunday's match could be an opportunity to give some other players who haven't been starting XI regulars a chance at facing the hostile atmosphere.

"There's guys fighting for jobs, there's people fighting for jobs," Cassar said. "There's a lot on the line for other teams. … You want to give some guys a look, but at the same time you want to keep building for next year."

Seattle can finish anywhere from second to seventh in the Western Conference. The Sounders can either have a home-field advantage for much of the postseason or face a similar circumstance to what RSL is experiencing.

"We are professionals," midfielder Javier Morales said. "We're planning to go there and try to win the game."

Cassar said he hasn't embraced the role of a potential spoiler. That hasn't been a main talking point leading up to the regular-season finale, although he cracked a brief smirk when saying, "It would be a fantastic place to get a win."

Much easier said than done.

The Sounders feature the best forward tandem in MLS in Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins, who have combined for 23 goals and 15 assists this season. The lone trip to Seattle this season for RSL could turn out to be a potential high note or another dreadful road loss.

"We're not in the offseason yet," Beltran said. "When we step on the field, we should have pride in our performance. Guys should know we're all responsible for where we ended up this year, so we'd like to go out, put in a good performance and be a good spokesman for our jobs for next year."

Twitter: @chriskamrani —

MLS standings

EAST W L T Pts GF GA

y-New York 17 10 6 57 60 42

x-D.C. United 15 12 6 51 43 40

x-Columbus 14 11 8 50 53 53

x-Toronto FC 15 14 4 49 57 56

x-Montreal 14 13 6 48 46 43

New England 13 12 8 47 45 46

Orlando City 12 13 8 44 46 55

New York City FC 10 16 7 37 48 55

Philadelphia 9 17 7 34 41 55

Chicago 8 19 6 30 42 56

WEST W L T Pts GF GA

y-FC Dallas 17 10 6 57 50 38

x-Los Angeles 14 10 9 51 55 44

x-Vancouver 15 13 5 50 42 36

Portland 14 11 8 50 37 38

Seattle 14 13 6 48 41 35

Sporting Kansas City 13 11 9 48 46 44

San Jose 13 12 8 47 40 37

Houston 11 13 9 42 42 46

Real Salt Lake 11 14 8 41 37 45

Colorado 9 14 10 37 32 39

x- clinched playoff berth

y- clinched conference

Wednesday's Game

Colorado 2, Sporting Kansas City 0

Sunday's Games

Toronto FC at Montreal, 3 p.m.

New England at New York City FC, 3 p.m.

Orlando City at Philadelphia, 3 p.m.

D.C. United at Columbus, 3 p.m.

Real Salt Lake at Seattle, 5 p.m.

Colorado at Portland, 5 p.m.

Los Angeles at Sporting Kansas City, 5 p.m.

San Jose at FC Dallas, 5 p.m.

Houston at Vancouver, 5 p.m.

New York at Chicago, 5 p.m.