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Seattle Sounders
Major League Soccer | Gameweek 45
Nov 2, 2021 at 2am UK
CenturyLink Field
LA Galaxy

Seattle
1 - 1
LA Galaxy

Ruidiaz (51' pen.)
Rowe (66')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Hernandez (19')
Bond (81'), Grandsir (90+1'), Steres (90+4')

Preview: Seattle Sounders vs. Los Angeles Galaxy - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Major League Soccer clash between Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

The Seattle Sounders will finish their regular-season home campaign on Monday when they play host to the Los Angeles Galaxy at Lumen Field.

Seattle are winless in four consecutive games, their longest such streak since 2019, while LA can clinch a playoff berth with a win and some help in this one.


Match preview

Seattle Sounders FC defender Nouhou (5) and Minnesota United FC midfielder Emanuel Reynoso (10) have words during the first half at Lumen Field on April 17, 2021© Reuters

In 2021, consistency has been one of the many characteristics that we would associate with the Rave Green, but that has seemingly disappeared since mid-October.

Even though it has not hurt them all that much in the table, the Sounders are no longer in control of their destiny when it comes to first place in the Western Conference, with Sporting Kansas City holding more wins and a superior goal difference, as well as a game in hand.

Brian Schmetzer saw his side come out mainly flat on Tuesday against Los Angeles FC, suffering through their worst defeat of the year, while their defence have been uncharacteristically poor lately, conceding eight goals in their last three games after only allowing seven in their previous nine encounters.

Following their defeat to LA, Schmetzer said that he was livid with how his side performed at the back as they gifted their opponents three goals in the opening 51 minutes.

With two games remaining, the worst that they can finish is third, but with a victory in either one of those encounters, they will snag at least second place and, with it, a spot in the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League.

They will be more concerned about playing back up to their potential instead of worrying about where they finish the regular season, and they have only lost one of their final two matches heading into the playoffs since 2016.

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Javier Hernandez celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal on June 27, 2021© Reuters

On Wednesday, a recurring theme came up for the Galaxy, which we have seen many times this year, an inability to get comfortable and find their way into a match.

Greg Vanney tried his best to get his side into their game against Sporting Kansas City with tactical adjustments, but they found themselves chasing their opponents more often than not.

LA have been a little too narrow in several matches this year, limiting their space and ability to create a lot of chances moving forward, which was evident against the Wizards.

There is no more room for error now as the Galaxy are just a point above the playoff line, heading into a venue in Lumen Field where they have not won since 2016.

The Galaxy have fought extremely hard to get themselves into a position to make it back into the postseason, but their style of play has left them vulnerable to the counter, and their defensive shape has not been strong all year, conceding the third-most goals in the Western Conference (50).

They have been able to find more balanced scoring of late than earlier this season when everything was going through Chicharito, but they may need their star striker to put on a couple of virtuoso performances to get them into the postseason as he is without a doubt their biggest game changer.

Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer form:
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • L

Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer form:
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • L



Team News

Seattle Sounders FC head coach Brian Schmetzer on June 27, 2021© Reuters

There is a chance that Jordan Morris could see the field for Seattle on Monday, with the American striker putting in a solid training session earlier this week as he seems to have recovered from an ACL injury.

Nicolas Lodeiro came on as a second-half substitute on Tuesday, Jordy Delem is out with a right ACL tear, Schmetzer has said that there is a chance that Raul Ruidiaz could play despite a left hamstring issue, but he did rule out Will Bruin, who took a knock in their defeat to LAFC, and Brad Smith is questionable with a right AC joint sprain.

Getting Joao Paulo back from his yellow card suspension should be a big boost to their midfield that did not have a lot of creativity or flow in their ball movement in their previous match.

While Paulo has been instrumental in winning balls in the middle of the pitch, Yeimar Gomez has been rock solid at the back, leading the league in interceptions with 84 and second in tackles won with 53, one back of Claudio Bravo.

The Galaxy will have Nick DePuy available after he missed their match on Wednesday because of yellow card accumulation, and Jorge Villafana remains questionable with an undisclosed injury.

Vanney made several changes to his starting 11 in midweek, including Sega Coulibaly replacing DePuy, Julian Araujo started in defence over Oniel Fisher, Sebastian Lletget took the place of Kevin Cabral in midfield, Samuel Grandsir was inserted in the lineup instead of Efrain Alvarez and Dejan Joveljic was the lone striker up high, replacing Chicharito.

Sacha Kljestan put the Galaxy in front in their previous meeting with the Sounders this year and Jonathan Bond made five saves, but it was not enough as the Sounders came back to win 2-1.

Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; Tolo, O'Neill, Gomez; Lodeiro, Rowe, Benezet, A. Roldan; Montero, C. Roldan; Chu

Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Fisher, Williams, Coulibaly, Araujo; Raveloson, Dos Santos; Cabral, Vazquez, Alvarez; Chicharito


SM words green background

We say: Seattle Sounders 1-0 Los Angeles Galaxy

Surely we will not see another poor performance by the Sounders in this one, but if Ruidiaz cannot go, it might be tough for them to produce the quality needed in the final third.

The Galaxy have been a little too one dimensional in recent weeks, allowing far too many good opportunities over their past two matches, going down two goals each time, but should they fall behind against the Sounders, coming back will not be so easy as the Rave Green are the joint top defensive unit in the league along with Nashville.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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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 Seattle Sounders win with a probability of 58.21%. A draw had a probability of 21.8% and a win for Los Angeles Galaxy had a probability of 19.99%.

The most likely scoreline for a Seattle Sounders win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.94%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.75%) and 2-0 (9.48%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.22%), while for a Los Angeles Galaxy win it was 1-2 (5.36%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.2% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Seattle vs LA Galaxy

Seattle Sounders
77.1%
Draw
8.3%
Los Angeles Galaxy
14.6%
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Seattle Sounders FC head coach Brian Schmetzer on June 27, 2021
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Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami34228479493074
2Columbus Crew34199672403266
3FC CincinnatiCincinnati341851158481059
4Orlando City34157125950952
5Charlotte FCCharlotte FC34149114637951
6New York City FCNY City34148125449550
7New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls34111495550547
8CF MontrealMontreal341110134864-1643
9Atlanta UnitedAtlanta341010144649-340
10DC United341010145270-1840
11Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia34910156255737
12Toronto34114194061-2137
13Nashville SCNashville3499163854-1636
14New England RevolutionNew England3494213774-3731
15Chicago Fire3479184062-2230

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Los Angeles FCLos Angeles34197863432064
2Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy34197869501964
3Real Salt LakeSalt Lake341611765481759
4Seattle SoundersSeattle34169951351657
5Houston DynamoHouston34159104739854
6Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd34157125849952
7Colorado RapidsColorado34155146160150
8Portland TimbersPortland341211116556947
9Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver34138135249347
10Austin FCAustin34119143948-942
11Dallas34118155456-241
12St Louis City34813135063-1337
13Sporting Kansas CityKansas3487195166-1531
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes3463254178-3721


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