Aiming to pick up a first win in three matches across all competitions, the Seattle Sounders will entertain the challenge of Los Angeles FC in Saturday's matchup at Lumen Field.
The away side, meanwhile, are in the ascendancy at the moment and will make the journey to Washington this weekend in search of a fifth consecutive victory.
Match preview
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Having been denied a winning start to their MLS campaign so late on following Yeimar Andrade's own goal in last month's curtain-raiser against Charlotte, the Seattle Sounders have since endured an underwhelming campaign to date.
A 3-1 victory over Guatemalan outfit Antigua in their subsequent involvement wrapped up a 6-2 aggregate triumph for Brian Schmetzer's men in their CONCACAF Champions Cup preliminary tie before they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Real Salt Lake in their second MLS affair.
Still licking the wounds from their most recent league disappointment, the Rave Greens played out a goalless stalemate against Cruz Azul in their Champions Cup last-16 first leg to leave the tie finely poised heading into next week's concluding fixture.
Goalless in their last two outings, which have yielded a combined five attempts on target, the Seattle Sounders will need to rediscover their touch in front of goal after netting 16 times across their five pre-season outings.
Aiming to claim what would be only a second victory in 12 editions of this fixture since October 2021, Saturday's hosts are up against it but can take huge confidence from having come out on top in the most recent meeting just over three months ago.
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Off the back of a 2-1 defeat to the Colorado Rapids in their first outing of the season on Champions Cup duty, Los Angeles FC needed some time to get going but have since hit full speed with four wins on the bounce across all competitions.
Steve Cherundolo's men just about managed to edge out Minnesota United in their opening MLS outing before securing further 1-0 wins over the aforementioned Colorado Rapids and New York City FC prior to last week's 3-0 demolition of Columbus Crew.
Having watched city rivals Los Angeles Galaxy romp to domestic glory last time out, the Falcons are intent on reaching the pinnacle of American football once again, having relatively underperformed since emerging champions in 2022.
With new arrival Cengiz Under still yet to make his debut following his loan move from Fenerbahce, Los Angeles FC still have some gears to find in attack which is bad news for the teams hoping to challenge them.
A three-goal buffer in the first leg of their Champions Cup clash against Columbus Crew means that Saturday's visitors can afford to go full strength for this weekend's encounter, four days before their second leg in Ohio.
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Team News
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Reed Baker-Whiting is the Seattle Sounders' only injury concern here as the 19-year-old remains without an appearance since the turn of the year.
Having reached double digits for both goals (10) and assists (16) last time out, Albert Rusnak is yet to really get going this term but definitely remains one to keep an eye on.
Lorenzo Dellavalle is still nursing a long-term knee problem and is currently without a definite timetable regarding his return to action for Los Angeles FC.
Thiago Holm is also unavailable for selection this weekend due to a calf injury which has seen him fail to make his bow for the away side since joining from Celtic.
Denis Bouanga got himself back on the scoresheet with a double against Columbus Crew last time out, and the Gabon international will be looking to pick up where he left off.
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; Nouhou, Bell, Andrade, Kalani; Roldan, Vargas; Rothrock, Rusnak, Minoungou; Morris
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Segura, Nkosi Tafari, Marlon; Palencia, Igor, Tillman, Yeboah; Ordaz, Ebobisse, Bouanga
We say: Seattle Sounders 1-2 Los Angeles FC
Goals have been a given when these two teams meet, and we expect this weekend's clash to be no exception.
However, we can just about see Los Angeles FC doing enough to take home all three points when all is said and done.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
