Everything you need to know about Sounders-LAFC

The Seattle Sounders’ season hangs in the balance as they head into Decision Day, as they sit outside the playoff picture heading into the season's final day for just the second time in their MLS history. The good news is that they only need one of the three teams ahead of them in the standings to drop points in order to move up, but the bad news is that if all three win it won’t matter what the Sounders do.

Here’s what you need to know:

Injury news

Sounders

OUT: Pedro de la Vega — Quad; Yeimar Gómez Andrade — Hamstring; Nikola Petković — Knee

QUESTIONABLE: Danny Musovski — Head; Alex Roldan — Calf

LAFC

OUT: Hugo Lloris — Back; Aaron Long — Head; Timothy Tillman — Pelvis

Opposition players to watch

Dennis Bouanga: It’s been a frustrating year for Bouanga and LAFC, but the numbers are still there with 18 goals and 5 assists in MLS play alone. Since the coaching change, though, Bouanga has played more as a 9 than a winger.

Son Heung-min: In his second MLS season, the going hasn’t been quite as easy as it looked it might be. Son has 7 goals and 12 assists in MLS play and while productive, isn’t as influential as many imagined. More recently, he’s been deployed as a 10, which somewhat limits some of his strengths.

Stats to look smart

22 – LAFC have not lost any of the 22 matches in which they’ve scored the first goal this year, going 17–0–5 across all competitions. Conversely, they are just 0–10–3 in league matches where they concede first.

10 – The Sounders are 10–1–2 in league play when they score the first goal, with their most recent example of dropping points coming in the 2–2 tie with San Diego FC.

Tactics to impress

LAFC haven’t exactly transformed into a possession-heavy team under Xavi Tamarit, but they aren’t quite as committed to playing on the counter with both Bouanga and Son in the middle of the park.
The Sounders are likely to continue their habit of pressing opponents more aggressively at home than on the road, but they will need to be a bit more careful with talented opponents like LAFC on the other side of the ball.