Seattle Sounders vs. Los Angeles FC Predictions

Seattle Sounders (9-3-3, 30 points, 1st place West) vs. Los Angeles FC (6-6-3, 21 points, 5th place West)

When: Sunday, October 11, 7 p.m.

Where: Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles

TV: ESPN

Point Spread: Seattle +0.5/LAFC -0.5

Moneyline: Seattle +230/LAFC +100/Draw +300

Total: Over 3.5 (-106)/Under 3.5 (-134)

Last Time Out:

Seattle beat Real Salt Lake 2-1; LAFC beat Real Salt Lake 3-1.

Previous meeting:

Seattle routed LAFC 3-0 on Sept. 18 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

About the Matchup:

Once again, we’ve got Seattle and LAFC taking the pitch, but this meeting could be unlike any we’ve seen between the sides. Los Angeles has been decimated by the international match week, which saw the Black and Gold lose four key players to World Cup qualifiers in South America. Among the losses are leading scorer Diego Rossi and top assist man Brian Rodriguez, who will both be playing for Uruguay.

Seattle has lost Peruvian star Raul Ruidiaz for the same reason, but the Sounders are better equipped to withstand losing one key player than LAFC is to lose four. Seattle still has its talisman in Nicolas Lodeiro as well as a proven scorer in Jordan Morris, which puts the Sounders in even better position than they already were. Plus, after getting rocked by LAFC in Florida, the Sounders seem to have the LAFC attack figured out. Can they continue their mastery of what had been the dominant team in the West?

Scouting Seattle:

If you watched the Sounders play LAFC in the Florida tournament, you might be surprised at just how thoroughly the Sounders have beaten the Black and Gold since that matchup. Seattle has outscored LAFC 6-1 since that setback, and in the teams’ past four meetings in regular MLS competition, the Sounders have outscored LAFC by a 10-3 margin.

But there’s one constant in the Sounders’ past three victories over LAFC that won’t be there this time: Ruidiaz. Seattle has never beaten LAFC without Ruidiaz on the pitch (granted, this is only LAFC’s third year of existence), and the Peruvian has hit the Black and Gold for four goals in the teams’ past three regular meetings.

However, he’s currently in South America trying to lead Peru to the World Cup. To get a result without him, the Sounders will need Jordan Morris to fill the void, a reasonable ask considering that Morris scored twice against LAFC in August and found the net in Seattle’s most recent match, a win over Real Salt Lake. The Sounders could also use a replication of their defensive effort from the RSL match, as Seattle didn’t allow RSL to take a shot on goal on Wednesday. However, thanks to an own goal from Nouhou Tolo, the Sounders still managed to concede a goal despite not giving up a shot, the eighth time in nine matches that Seattle has allowed at least one opposing goal.

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Scouting LAFC:

Three questions exist with LAFC in this match. First, will LAFC be rested or rusty when it takes the pitch? The Black and Gold didn’t play on Wednesday because a member of the Colorado Rapids tested positive for COVID, forcing the Rapids to cancel their match with LAFC. Not only does that mean a week off matches, but it also means that LAFC hasn’t been able to experience life without Rossi on the pitch.

That leads me to question 2: will LAFC be able to adjust to losing so much of their starting lineup to international duty? Bob Bradley has had to plug in several options throughout the season, and while LAFC has kept its head above water for most of the season, it’s clear that the Black and Gold is a lesser version of last year’s side, which romped to the Supporter’s Shield. That’s to be expected with Carlos Vela lost to injury, and with Rossi and Rodriguez off in Uruguay, LAFC could be a shadow of itself in this match.

Finally, question 3: can LAFC find a way to combat Seattle’s strategy against them? The Sounders have completely shut down the LAFC attack in each of the past two matches, and now the Black and Gold have to find a way past Brian Schmetzer’s side without Rossi as well as Vela. The one team that Seattle has managed to shut out in its past nine matches was LAFC, which is down two of its three goal scorers from its win over Real Salt Lake last week.

Dan’s Best Bets:

With LAFC crippled by the international match window, I think this is an ideal time to take Seattle on a draw no bet, or even for the win. You’ll get +140 to take the Sounders on a draw no bet, and I think there’s great value here given what the Sounders have done to LAFC in their past two matchups. But given the recent history, I’m willing to be a bit more aggressive than that.

I’m actually going to go out on a limb here and pick the Sounders to win to nil at +600. There’s a couple of reasons for that. First, LAFC is down its three best scorers, and even when they had Rossi and Rodriguez in their attack, they couldn’t unlock Seattle’s defense. Second, LAFC hasn’t won consecutive matches all season, following up their past three victories with defeats. Third, Seattle really should have won to nil against RSL, with an own goal being the only mistake the defense made. With LAFC’s attack hobbled, there’s an excellent chance that Seattle keeps the clean sheet.

Finally, I’d back the Sounders to score the first goal in the first half. LAFC has struggled to keep goals out in the first 45 minutes, and Seattle has victimized them twice in the first 45 minutes this season. You’ll get +165 for it.

Dan’s Score Prediction:

With both teams down scorers, don’t expect this match to be the high-scoring contest that usually comes when Seattle faces LAFC. I’ve already picked the Sounders to shut out LAFC here, and I don’t think Seattle’s attack will be quite as strong as usual without Ruidiaz. I’ll take Seattle to claim a 2-0 win at +2000. Note: Many soccer bettors are bummed out that their out for reduced odds soccer betting left the market (5Dimes). Most aren’t aware that you can still bet on games at reduced odds! Find the same great betting platform, reduced betting odds and wagering menu at BetAnySports!