LAFC at Seattle Sounders
Saturday, June 16, 2022
12:00pm PT
Lumen Field - Seattle, Washington
TV: ABC, ESPN Deportes
Radio: 710 AM ESPN, ESPN LA App, 980 AM La Mera Mera
LAFC last played an MLS match on May 28, a 3-2 win at Banc of California Stadium over the San Jose Earthquakes. Since then, the Black & Gold have been on a break, enjoying the best record in MLS during the latest FIFA International Window. Six players (Kellyn Acosta – USA, Max Crepeau – CAN, Doneil Henry – CAN, Jose Cifuentes – ECU, Diego Palacios – ECU, Tomas Romero – EL SALVADOR) with their national teams, and the rest of the players took a week off and then continued training to prepare for the rest of the season.
After 14 matches, LAFC has been successful so far, leading the league in goals and ranking fifth in the league in goals against to go with their league-high 29 points.
As they prepare to return to action – they do so against one of the top perennial top teams in MLS, the Seattle Sounders. Seattle has got off to a slow start in league play as they focused on winning the Concacaf Champions League, becoming the first MLS club to win the international title. The Sounders are back now – and have won four of their last five league games and out-scored their opponents 9-3 in that span.
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SEATTLE IN-DEPTH
Seattle is a strong, veteran team that is good both with possession on the counterattack and arguably stronger defensively. They bring a calm, winning mentality to every game – and are always difficult to beat on the turf at Century Link Field. Led in the back by one of the top goalkeepers in the league in Stefan Frei, Seattle continues to rely on Christian Roldan, Nico Lodeiro, Jordan Morris, and Raul Ruidiaz for offense. Ruidiaz has been an LAFC-killer since 2018 and scored two goals on Wednesday in Seattle’s 4-0 win over Vancouver, but has been ruled out for Saturday's matchup.
LAFC WILL WIN IF:
The Black & Gold will need to defend compactly as a unit and stop the Seattle counterattacks before they are able to get into dangerous areas. LAFC will need to play through the middle and create chances with quick passing and action toward the Sounders goal to create quality chances. LAFC has had success on set pieces this season and will need to continue their dominance there.
SEATTLE CAN WIN IF:
They score on a set piece, and continue to be dangerous on the attack. If they can find Morris or Lodeiro in dangerous areas and with space in the LAFC area – they will most likely score.
Inspired by Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, a 2004 stealth game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami.
