The Leagues Cup knockout rounds have arrived in style!
Two of the winningest clubs in MLS history will enter Lumen Field for their Round of 32 match on Thursday night but only one will leave with their tournament life intact. Looking to add the missing piece to their trophy cabinets in 2024, LA Galaxy travels north to take on the Seattle Sounders in a historic Western Conference battle of MLS giants.
Since Seattle entered the league in 2009, the Sounders carry a slight advantage across the 50 head-to-head matches against Galaxy with a 19-17-14 (W-L-D) record including an 8-4-7 record at home. When it comes to knockout round competitions, however, Galaxy boasts six wins to Seattle’s five.
This season, LA is unbeaten against its West Coast counterparts over two matches during their best campaign in nearly a decade. Led by their superstar attacking trio of All-Stars Riqui Puig and Gabriel Pec alongside Ghanaian international Joseph Paintsil — nicknamed the “Killa P’s” — the Galaxy remain atop the MLS Western Conference table, looking down on Seattle in 7th.
The Sounders are better dissected in pairs.
Producing most of the goals is the attacking pair of former USMNT striker Jordan Morris finishing off the chances created by Slovakian international attacking midfielder Albert Rusnák. In the double pivot of their 4-2-3-1 formation, veteran João Paulo and homegrown Obed Vargas make up the best defensive midfield pairing in MLS. Helping to connect the duos is a pair of brothers who occupy the right side of the pitch for the Sounders, fullback Alex Roldan and winger Cristian Roldan.
Further aided defensively by the secure center-back pairing of Jackson Ragan and Yéimar, the Sounders have conceded the fewest goals in the Western Conference this season. Of course, that strength will be tested on Thursday against the joint-second leading scorers in the conference.
On the offensive end, Seattle believes they’ll be able to put the ball in the back of the net against a team that Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer analyzed, “defending is their Achille’s heel” and Rusnák added, “They don’t like to defend.”
This rivalry is more than just history.Galaxy is the only team in MLS history to win five MLS Cups and Seattle is the only MLS team to have lifted the Concacaf Champions League trophy but neither team has ever been crowned Leagues Cup champion — or even played a Leagues Cup knockout match for that matter. On Thursday, both teams will aim to begin their hopeful run to a Leagues Cup title with their first knockout stage win in the history of the tournament.
