The Seattle Sounders will take on Western Conference rival the LA Galaxy on Sunday, April 23. Here is a breakdown of everything you need to know about the match:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 1 p.m. PT at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
WHERE TO WATCH: The game will be televised on ESPN.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The game will air on KIRO Radio 97. 3FM and in Spanish on El Rey 1360AM.
2017 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 1-2-3 (9th place West), Galaxy: 2-4-0 (6 points, 8th in West).
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 5-9-7 all time against the Galaxy, including a 2-5-3 mark on the road.
RECENT MEETINGS: The Sounders went 1-1-1 against the Galaxy last season. Seattle fell 1-0 at home on July 9, drew 1-1 at home on July 31 and then won 4-2 on the road on Sept. 25.
NEW-LOOK LA: Landon Donovan, Steven Gerrard and Sounders-killer Robbie Keane are gone, but the Galaxy have brought in United States national team veteran Jermaine Jones as well as talented French midfielder Romain Alessandrini. Alongside perennial offensive threat Giovani dos Santos, LA still has plenty of firepower left to offer.
ONALFO ERA: Longtime LA head coach Bruce Arena left for the United States men’s national team and took nearly the entire technical staff with him. Former Galaxy player, assistant and Galaxy II head coach Curt Onalfo has taken over to try and replace the U.S. coaching legend.
RAZOV RETURN: Former Sounders assistant Ante Razov left Seattle for an assistant position with his hometown team the Galaxy after last year’s MLS Cup win. Razov spent the 2015 and ’16 seasons coaching in Seattle after playing 13 years in MLS and earning 25 caps with the U.S. national team.
FANTASTIC FRENCHMAN: Designated Player Alessandrini, 28, has been a revelation since his arrival this offseason. He has four goals in his last three matches and has scored half of LA’s eight goals so far. Alessandrini joined LA from France’s Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille where he scored 11 goals added nine assists.
EARLY CONCESSIONS: The Galaxy have allowed the opening goal in five of the six matches they’ve played this season.
LLETGET OUT: Midfielder Sebastian Lletget is out for 3-5 months after undergoing foot surgery last month to repair a Lisfranc fracture. Lletget was injured against Honduras while on international duty with the United States national team. He scored the game’s opening goal in the fifth minute, but he exited with the injury just 18 minutes.
HONEY BADGER HISTORY: Captain Osvaldo Alonso became the first MLS Sounders player to reach 20,000 minutes with the club last Friday against the Vancouver Whitecaps. One of two Sounders originals remaining from the inaugural 2009 season, Alonso has played at least 1,800 minutes every year.
TORRES QUESTIONABLE: Center back Roman Torres exited in the first half against the San Jose Earthquakes on April 8 with a left hamstring strain and was originally listed as day-to-day. Torres did not travel to Vancouver last Friday.
CAPITALIZING ON CHANCES: The Sounders rued missing key chances in their 2-1 loss to the Whitecaps. Seattle dominated its Cascadia rivals on the road, but could not find a breakthrough.
“It’ll come, it’ll come, it’ll come with time, with patience,” said midfielder Cristian Roldan. “We just have to be a little [cleverer] and decisive in the final third. The goals will come.”
