With both teams seeking to maintain their 100% start to the campaign, Los Angeles FC and Seattle Sounders face off on Saturday.
The teams currently lead the way after matchday one of the MLS season with the visitors occupying top spot, while the hosts are just below in second.
Match preview
© ReutersLos Angeles FC kicked off their 2021 MLS campaign with a 2-0 triumph over Austin FC at the Banc of California Stadium on April 17.
Corey Baird gave Bob Bradley's men the lead in the 61st minute, before Jose Cifuentes came off the bench to seal the deal in stoppage time.
It was a well deserved win for The Black and Gold, albeit an expected one, as they were up against a side who were playing their first top-flight game ever.
A sterner test now awaits as they prepare to host the team that knocked them out of last year's playoffs courtesy of a 3-1 win.
However, Saturday's hosts have a slight head-to-head advantage in recent meetings with five wins from the last 10 clashes, compared to the visitors' four.
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Seattle Sounders opened their season with a resounding 4-0 victory over Minnesota United at the CenturyLink Field last Saturday.
Raul Ruidiaz recovered from a first-half penalty miss to score twice, and he was joined on the scoresheet by Joao Paulo as well as Fredy Montero.
The Sounders have found away matches at Los Angeles FC to be quite unpleasant as they have lost three of the last four games by an aggregate score of 8-2.
Brian Schmetzer's men will look to carry the momentum from last week as they seek to turn their fortunes around in this particular fixture.
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Team News
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Carlos Vela hobbled off with a minor injury during the course of the last game, and it is still unclear if he will feature in this one.
Besides that, the home team have everyone fit and ready to go as they look to make it six points from six to start the season.
Nicolas Lodeiro missed the visitors' emphatic victory last time out with a muscle injury which is expected to keep him out once again on Saturday.
He is joined on the sidelines by Jimmy Medranda as the 27-year-old Colombian forward continues to battle with an ankle problem.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Fink; Palacios, Segura, Murillo, Blackmon; Kaye, Atuesta, Blessing; Baird, Musovski, Opoku
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; Smith, Tolo, Arreaga, O'Neill, A. Roldan; C. Roldan, Atencio, Paulo; Bruin, Ruidiaz
We say: Los Angeles FC 2-1 Seattle Sounders
The game has all the makings of a highly entertaining affair as the sides battle it out for early supremacy. While we expect goals at both ends, we are backing the home team to come out victorious in a narrow fashion.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Los Angeles FC win with a probability of 57.92%. A win for Seattle Sounders had a probability of 21.37% and a draw had a probability of 20.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Los Angeles FC win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.01%) and 1-0 (7.59%). The likeliest Seattle Sounders win was 1-2 (5.6%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.22%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 9.2% likelihood.
