Los Angeles FC and Seattle Sounders will be vying to move top of the Western Conference in MLS on Thursday.
Los Angeles are only behind St Louis City on goal difference, while Seattle are a point adrift of the top two teams ahead of their trip to California.
Match preview
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Despite their lofty position in the table, Los Angeles had endured a winless run of six matches in all competitions prior to their 2-1 win away to Sporting Kansas City at the weekend.
Defeats to Club Leon and their local rivals Los Angeles Galaxy had seen LAFC crash out of the CONCACAF Champions League and US Open Cup respectively, putting Steve Cherundolo under any degree of pressure for the first time since he was appointed as manager in January 2022.
Of course, after guiding them to their first ever MLS Cup in his first full campaign in charge, the 87-capped USA international should be safe in his job for the foreseeable future, with Carlos Vela's last-gasp winner against Sporting KC helping his side get back on track.
Should St Louis slip up against Real Salt Lake this week, Cherundolo's side will have the opportunity to move back to the top of the table with a positive result against Seattle, which would lay down a serious marker that they are capable of retaining their title.
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Seattle, meanwhile, have bounced back strongly from the major disappointment of missing out on the playoffs for the first ever time since they joined the MLS in 2009.
Indeed, having lifted the MLS Cup in 2016 and 2019, as well as finishing as runners-up in 2017 and 2020, very few people would have foreseen Brian Schmetzer's side ending up in 11th position in the Western Conference table last time out.
Having been in charge for all four of those runs to the playoff finals following his appointment as manager in July 2016, the 60-year-old has understandably held onto his job courtesy of the goodwill which he has worked tirelessly to build across his seven years in charge.
With a six-point cushion inside the playoff positions, and top spot within touching distance despite only winning one of their last six games, the board's decision to remain loyal has clearly paid off up to this point.
Team News
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Los Angeles appear likely to remain without Timothy Tillman, Sergi Palencia, Kellyn Acosta and Maxime Crepeau until later this month due to muscular injuries.
Having come off the bench to score a late winner last time out, club legend Vela has almost certainly done enough to work his way back into the hosts' starting XI.
Seattle, meanwhile, will travel without Nicolas Lodeiro and Sota Kitahara due to muscular issues, while Ethan Dobbelaere is out of action due to a sprained ankle.
After throwing away a one-goal lead on three separate occasions during their 3-3 draw away to Charlotte FC on Sunday, Schmetzer may be contemplating making alterations to his defensive unit given the scale of the task in front of them.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Gaines, Maldonado, Long, Palacios; Duenas, Ilie, Crisostomo; Vela, Ordaz, Biuk
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; A Roldan, Gomez, Ragen, Tolo; Vargas, Paulo; C Roldan, Rusnak, Chu; Ruidiaz
We say: Los Angeles FC 2-1 Seattle Sounders
With this match representing second versus third in the Western Conference table, this should be a highly entertaining affair between two teams trending in the right direction.
However, the MLS holders clearly possess a little more individual quality, and we expect them to record back-to-back victories after their dramatic late winner at the weekend.
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Top tip
Brett Curtis
