Seattle Sounders will travel down to Los Angeles to face off against the LA Galaxy at the StubHub Center. The Sounders have won each of their last three games and LA's struggles have continued as they've lost their last five MLS matches.
Seattle are hoping to continue to fly up the Western Conference table. LA Galaxy on the other hand, desperately need to grab some points. This is the second meeting of the season between the two clubs. The first meeting resulted in Seattle walking into the StubHub Center and leaving with a 3-0 win. LA is going to hope that the result will change Saturday night.
Team News
LA Galaxy: Los Angeles gets Gyasi Zardes back from international duty after winning the Gold Cup with the USMNT. However, it is not all good news for the Galaxy.
Robbie Rodgers is out for the season and will not be playing in the game on Saturday. Rodgers has an ankle injury and will be hoping to return better than ever next season. Star player Sebastian Lletget will also miss the match as he picked up a foot injury back in March but should not miss as much time as his teammate, Robbie Rodgers.
Baggio Husidic will also be sidelined as he recovering from a fractured fibula. Dave Romney will spend time with his injured teammates as he currently has a hamstring injury he is looking to get over. To add to all these injures, Jack McBean will be serving his suspension.
Seattle Sounders FC: Like LA, Seattle also have players returning from international duty. Gyasi Zardes' USMNT teammates Jordan Morris and Clint Dempsey will be returning to the Seattle side.
In the duo's most recent time with the USA team, they both achieved something big. Clint Dempsey tied former LA Galaxy legend, Landon Donovan for most goals in USMNT history. On the other hand, Jordan Morris scored the game winning goal in the Gold Cup final to see his side win the competition.
Seattle's injury list is much shorter than LA Galaxy's, but they'll be missing standout midfielder, Osvaldo Alonso. The Cuban international picked up a left MCL sprain in their match against the Colorado Rapids early in July.
Key Facts
LA Galaxy recently signed Jonathan dos Santos but will be without him for the match against Seattle. LA Galaxy also appointed former Seattle manager, Sigi Schmid, as their new manager. This is Schmid's first match with LA since being appointed in the middle of the week. Schmid is the all time winningest coach in the history of the league and will hope that trend continues during his current spell in Los Angeles.
Seattle are after their fourth straight win and the Galaxy are looking to end a five game losing streak. With the return of Seattle's star players they're a scary side and LA's defense is going to have to be up to task of stopping them. Los Angeles will also be hoping Zardes can find his stride after putting up a decent showing for the USMNT.
A win for Seattle will see them continue to climb the ladder in the West and won't have them far off the top. However, LA are hoping to win for another reason. The Galaxy are a side that are usually quite successful and don't usually miss out on the playoffs. With the side currently not in the playoff picture, they desperately need three points. The signing of Jonathan dos Santos and the hiring of Sigi shows that the club are ambitious and could be a club that will scare opposition in the near future.