Toronto FC will be without suspended defender Adrian Serioux, right, for its game against the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Winning on the road has always been a problem for Toronto FC.

Since entering Major League Soccer as an expansion franchise in 2007, the Canadian club has registered six wins away from the cozy confines of BMO Field.

This year, Toronto has won two out of 10 road games and collected nine out of possible 30 points, while suffering embarrassing losses away to the Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake and, most recently, Chivas USA.

With 30 total points, Toronto currently finds itself in a position to claim one the final two playoff berths available, but several teams are within striking distance of the Reds, including Real Salt Lake, New England Revolution and Colorado Rapids (30 points each), and D.C. United (29).

Further complicating matters for Toronto is the fact that five of its last eight games of the season are on the road, including Saturday's outing against the Seattle Sounders (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 3:30 p.m. ET), the middle contest of a three-game road trip.

Coach Chris Cummins didn't mince words when talking about Toronto's playoff prospects, stating the team can't afford to come home empty-handed from their next two games.

"We know we have to improve on the road and need to take points away from home if we are going to get in the playoffs," Cummins said. "We know we need four wins between now and the end of the season. If we get three points out of the next two road games then we are back on track."

Saturday's game in Seattle poses a particularly tough challenge for Toronto, as the team will be missing two veteran starters in midfielder Carl Robinson and defender Adrian Serioux, both suspended.

The Sounders boast one of the league's most potent strike forces in Fredy Montero and Nate Jaqua, who have combined for 17 goals this season. The two Seattle forwards have benefited greatly from the sublime service of Swedish international Freddie Ljungberg, who has been sensational in his first season in MLS.

Stopping this deadly trio won't be easy, especially without Robinson and Serioux, so Cummins said he will likely take a conservative approach to the game, preaching stout defensive organization and precisely-timed counterattacks.

"We need to be solid, we need to make sure we have the balance in the team of attacking players and the defensive players, but we need to be solid," Cummins said. "We need to stifle them as much as we can and if it means hitting them on the counter with forward runs ... that's what we need to do."

Defence paramount

The Toronto coach also stressed that everybody, even the forwards and attacking midfielders, have to chip in and defend, and not leave it to the back four to do by themselves.

"There's 11 men on the pitch and if you concede a goal it's down to the 11, not down to one player. It might be an individual mistake at times, but maybe [the scoring chance] could have been stopped earlier. We're going to defend from the front," Cummins explained.

Toronto captain Jim Brennan, who missed last week's 2-0 loss to Chivas USA in Los Angeles through suspension, will be available for duty against Seattle. Also returning is veteran striker Danny Dichio.

The club's all-time leading scorer did not make the trip to California last week. His absence raised a lot of eyebrows, which led to Cummins telling reporters that Dichio, who turns 35 in October, is too banged up physically to travel with the team to West Coast games.

"Don't get me wrong — if we haven't got enough players then I would ask him to travel. But for the benefit of him prolonging his career and to get the best out of him in our home games, it's best for him to stay behind," Cummins said.

Dichio did make the trip to Seattle this week, but whether he sees any action (his last appearance in a regular-season game was a month ago) remains to be seen.