LAFC hit the road for a Western Conference showdown against Seattle Sounders this weekend at Lumen Field.
The Sounders have rebounded after their poor start to the season with six straight wins in all competitions that includes a 2-0 victory over St Louis CITY on Wednesday night. Brian Schmetzer’s side have climbed up the Western Conference table as they sit in sixth place with 37 points from 24 matches.
LAFC, on the other hand, have been stifled in their last two outings. Steve Cherundolo’s team fell 5-1 to reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew — at home — before settling for a 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake during the midweek. LAFC still remain on track to compete for the top spot in the West as they trail rivals LA Galaxy by just two points after 23 matches played with two games in hand.
Here’s 90min‘s guide to Seattle vs LAFC.
Current form (all competitions)
|
Seattle Sounders |
LAFC |
|---|---|
|
Seattle Sounders 2-0 St Louis CITY – 17/07/2024 |
LAFC 1-1 Real Salt Lake – 17/07/2024 |
|
Austin FC 0-1 Seattle Sounders – 13/07/2024 |
LAFC 1-5 Columbus Crew – 13/07/2024 |
|
Sacramento Republic FC 1-2 Seattle Sounders – 09/07/2024 |
LAFC 3-1 New Mexico United – 10/07/2024 |
|
Seattle Sounders 2-0 New England Revolution – 06/07/2024 |
LA Galaxy 1-2 LAFC – 04/07/2024 |
|
Seattle Sounders 2-1 Chicago Fire – 29/06/2024 |
LAFC 3-0 Colorado Rapids – 29/06/2024 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
|
United States |
Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
|
Canada |
Apple TV + |
22-year-old Josh Atencio could feature in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as he was named an alternate for the U23 USA national team. Thus, he’s set to miss the clash on Saturday.
Seattle Sounders predicted lineup vs LAFC ( 4-3-3 ): Frei; Tolo, Bell, Ragen, Roldan; Vargas, Paulo; De la Vega, Rusnak, Chu; Ruidiaz.
Young center-back Lorenzo Dellavalle is set to miss game as he’s still recovering from a knee problem. The 20-year-old is expected to return to action in early August.
Jesus Murillo and Sergi Palencia are both expected to return to Cherundolo’s starting lineup after serving one-match suspensions after both players were sent off vs the Crew (Murillo saw a straight red card while Palencia was shown a second yellow card).
Midfielder Timothy Tillman is another doubt for the game as was substituted off in the draw vs RSL with an apparent hamstring injury.
LAFC predicted lineup vs Seattle Sounders ( 4-3-3 ): Lloris; Palencia, Murillo, Long, Hollingshead; Bogusz, Sanchez, Atuesta; Olivera, Kamara, Bouanga.
The Sounders will be eager to get their revenge on LAFC after falling to the Black and Gold back on matchday one of the 2024 season. However, LAFC will welcome in defensive reinforcements like Palencia and Murillo that will help solidify the backline.
The hosts will open the scoring early on, but Denis Bouanga and Cristian Olivera will both get on the scoresheet to turn the match around in LAFC’s favor.
Prediction: Seattle Sounders 1-2 LAFC