Clearly, Sigi Schmid is having his most frustrating season with the 10-2-12 Seattle Sounders. They're just barely on the right side of the playoffs in the Western Conference coming into this week, but the godsend for Sunday is that they are at home and playing against an Orlando City side which is struggling just as much over in the East.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Sounders are generally very good here at home, but this season, they haven't been nearly as sharp. They're still odds-on favorites in this duel at -110 on the moneyline, but that isn't as convincing as you might have figured.
The total is lined at a flat 2.5, somewhat low by MLS standards of late.
KEY INJURIES
Conor Donovan is the latest member of the Lions to be ruled out for the season. Adrian Heath's crew has now suffered three long-term injuries which have been devastating for the club in Donovan, Kevin Molino and Harrison Heath, but Brek Shea remains out as he recovers from sports hernia surgery as well.
The list of question marks this week for Seattle is impressive. Not only is Clint Dempsey up in the air, but so too is his running mate, Obafemi Martins. Even the second-team strikers, Andy Craven and Chad Barrett are on the injury list, the latter of which injured himself scoring a goal, creating a potentially huge void up front for the Sounders.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We score a goal early on, then we lose the guy with a hamstring pull. It's like, 'When it rains, it pours.' It continues to do that." – Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid on the team's down luck at the moment
RECENT FORM
Orlando City's form has been miserable at times of late. The club played to a lifeless draw in which it was lucky to get even a point from against Philadelphia last weekend, a match which came just three days after Toronto FC pummeled the heck out of the Lions.
OCSC has just a win and a draw in six matches since July 11.
Seattle took a 1-0 lead last week in Los Angeles and was hoping to pull off an epic upset. Instead, the club allowed three in a row without an answer to become the next victim of the Galaxy in Westwood.
That's now five straight defeats for the Sounders dating back to July 3, which is why they are in such trouble in this one.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Sounders will get back on track, though, and this is a really good time for that to happen. They run into an Orlando team which is really just a two-man band with Cyle Larin and Kaka up front. The Lions really have yet to address their problems at the back yet, and Tally Hall has had to make far too many awesome saves to bail out his club.
Seattle is a lot more poised of a team, and it should be ready to get back to its winning ways as long as it starts to get a little bit healthier. We wouldn't want any part of the Sounders if both Martins and Dempsey are out, but even if one of the two is in the fold, this feels like a winning match for the Sounders against an Orlando City team which has been woeful on the road here in the MLS.
Seattle 2, Orlando City 1
BookMaker has live MLS odds for every clash of the season. You can find a moneyline price on the Seattle Sounders of -110 and a total of 2.5 right now! BookMaker is also going to have multiple betting options available for this nationally-televised match. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, total and spread. Log in and start gambling during the soccer game now!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The fixture between the Seattle Sounders and Orlando City will take place at 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 16, 2015 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, WA. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
