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Losing to the LA Galaxy will not break the Seattle Sounders season. Beating them will not make the Sounders season, though it will give a huge morale boost for the fans, players and staff. LA’s 2016 season is defined by the greatness of Giovani dos Santos and Jelle Van Damme. Gio is a fringe MVP candidate due to his 14 goals and 11 assists. Bruce Arena playing him up top opened up the attack. Jelle would be an MVP candidate, but MLS doesn’t really believe in defenders winning the award. Van Damme isn’t solely responsible for their top 5 defense, but he is certainly the anchor.
Seattle will be without Clint Dempsey, but could have both Brad Evans and Aaron Kovar back in the squad (probably just the 18). That will mean the attacking burden is again on the duo of Jordan Morris and Nicolas Lodeiro. If one of the not-those-guys can perform today that will be a huge addition. The defense will be anchored by Chad Marshall, Roman Torres, Osvaldo Alonso and Cristian Roldan - it should be fine.
Armando Villarreal is the center ref for the game in his 74th MLS match. Clint Dempsey is still out due to his heart issue. Gyasi Zardes is still out for the LA Galaxy. They list Steven Gerrard as questionable. Brad Evans and Erik Friberg are questionable for Seattle. Four players will miss their next match if they get a yellow today - Jeff Larentowicz, Jelle Van Damme, Osvaldo Alonso, and Joevin Jones. No players are suspended.
nos audietis in somniis | nos audietis in altum
you will hear us in your sleep | you will hear us from the deep
Keys to Game:
- Prepare for early onslaught
- Utilize size advantage on set-pieces
- Be precise near goal
- They will counter, often
How to Watch
Match date/time: 1:00 PM, September 25th, 2016
Venue: Stubhub Center, Carson, suburban California
Streaming: Watch ESPN
National TV: ESPN (Healey, Twellman)
Local Radio: 107.7 The End (Johnson, Keller)
Local Spanish Radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Rodriguez, Maqueda)
INTERNATIONAL TV
Africa: FOX Africa | Australia: BeIn Sports (AUS) | Europe: Eurosport | Middle East & North Africa: Abu Dhabi Sport | Panama: TVN | Singapore: Starhub | Taiwan: Sportscast | United Kingdom: Sky Sports
How I'm watching
Scarf: Enemy’s Goal Is Down
Where: Home
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