FULL-TIME: Brad Smith overcame an uneven first half to score his first goal as the Seattle Sounder to deliver a point on the road. Smith’s goal came in the 54th minute, heading in a rebound from a Raul Ruidiaz header to secure a 1-1 tie.

If rivalries are really born from repeated meetings in high-leverage matches, rather than merely geographical convenience, there’s a pretty good case to be made that the Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles FC are close to as good as it gets in MLS. The Sounders and LAFC have now met two straight years in the playoffs and every regular-season meeting seems to be a statement game for at least one of them.

Put this one in the latter category. Both the Sounders and LAFC are coming off season-opening wins in which they again look like two of the top teams in the Western Conference, again.

The Sounders faced LAFC five times last season, including MLS is Back and the playoffs, with Seattle winning three of those matches.

Other notes

• Only Zlatan Ibrahimović (9 goals) has scored more against Los Angeles FC than Nicolás Lodeiro and Raúl Ruidíaz (5 goals each).
• The Sounders’ 4–0 win over Minnesota United in Week 1 made them the 11th team in MLS history to win their opening match by four goals (no team has won its opener by more).
• The Sounders have lost in all three of their prior regular season visits to Banc of California Stadium. Seattle was outscored 8–2 in those matches, but scored three goals in their most important match at LAFC, a 3–1 win in the 2019 Western Conference Final.
• The Sounders are 60w-29l-32d (1.75 ppg) whenever Nicolas Lodeiro starts during the regular season. They’re 8-8-2 (1.44) in games he doesn’t start since he joined the team in 2016.
• This match features the two teams that FiveThirtyEight has predicted as the favorites to win MLS Cup.

Liveblog

Absences: Injury, international duty and suspension

Seattle

• OUT: Jordan Morris (ACL injury)
• QUESTIONABLE: Jimmy Medranda (left hamstring strain), Nicolas Lodeiro (left quad strain), Fredy Montero (left quad strain)

LAFC

• OUT: Mohamed Traore (left knee), Tristan Blackmon (Health & Safety Protocols), Erik Duenas (R Ankle)
• QUESTIONABLE: Carlos Vela (R Quad), Diego Rossi (L Hamstring), Danny Musovski (R Hip), Corey Baird (Lower Back)

Officials

REFEREE: Armando Villarreal; AR1 (bench): Cameron Blanchard; AR2 (opposite): Chris Elliott; 4th: Silviu Petrescu; VAR: Edvin Jurisevic; AVAR: Jonathan Johnson

How to Watch

Match date/kickoff time: Saturday, April 24, 3:08 PM PT

Venue: Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles

Online Streaming: Fubo TV (affiliate link)

National English TV: ESPN (Twellman, Champion)

Local Radio: 950 KJR-AM Seattle (Costigan, Keller)

Local Spanish Radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Rodriguez, Maqueda, Tapia)

National Spanish TV: ESPN Deportes

Lineups

Highlights will be posted as the match progresses.

This is Seattle Sounders at LAFC; watch with us

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