The Seattle Sounders will face the LA Galaxy for the third time in five weeks, but for the first time at home. The Galaxy still “lead” the Wooden Spoon race despite their third-place finish in Leagues Cup and have some absences to deal with. We reached out to Alex Ruiz of Galactic Tribune to get a better sense of what the Sounders are up against.
Notable absences and injuries
Vanney said during Thursday's media availability that the club was still evaluating players and couldn't confirm if certain players will head to the trip up North. I'd expect Marco Reus, Emiro Garces, Julian Aude, and Matheus Nascimento to not play in tis match. Gabriel Pec is out due to yellow card accumulation.
Team’s form
Aside from winning the third place match in Leagues Cup, the Galaxy's results over have been very inconsistent. The club is playing younger players and has priortized getting minutes for players like Elijah Wynder, Chris Rindov, Maurico Cuevas and Harbor Miller. The Galaxy will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss, the club knows climbing out of this will be an almost impossible task at this point.
Key players
Keep an eye on Diego Fagundez and the role he plays. Due to injuries and the absence of Pec, it'll be interesting to see if Fagundez plays out wide or stays central. Vanney has allowed him to play as a no. 8 in recent months. With Reus likely out, the Galaxy will rely on his for some creativity.
One thing opposing fans should know
The LA Galaxy hasn't won a game on the road all season long. They're not able to get wins aways from home but they did get a late game-tying in Houston last week.
Projected lineup
4-3-3: Micovic; John Nelson, Maya Yoshida, Chris Rindov, Miki Yamane; Edwin Cerrillo, Elijah Wynder, Diego Fagundez; Harbor Miller, Joseph Paintsil, Miguel Berry
