The MLS hasn't quite been around long enough to be able to relate to baseball, but if you could make a comparison across sports, the LA Galaxy are the New York Yankees. They've brought in all the names and seemingly have an endless budget, and they've got more titles than anyone else. That said, they were human in the 2015 season and could be in a lot of trouble on Wednesday when they open up the playoffs against the hated Seattle Sounders.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The road to reach the MLS Cup was once thought to be relatively open for the Galaxy. They were a win in really any of their last three games of the season away from clinching a bye in the playoffs. All of a sudden with just one point to show for those three games, not only does LA have to play in the opening round, but it has to play on the road against a Seattle team which went 11-4-2 on its home ground this year.
We grant you, the Galaxy have a draw here at CenturyLink Field to show for their work of late, but they went just 2-9-6 on the road and can't feel good about their chances of advancing at this point.
KEY INJURIES
Todd Dunivant and Baggio Husidic are men who Bruce Arena hope can get back in the fold for the postseason roster. Bradford Jamieson IV has a concussion and is unlikely to get consideration for this match.
The Sounders wrapped up their regular season with all sorts of problems at the back. Andres Correa, Oniel Fisher and Roman Torres have all been hurt and aren't likely to play on Wednesday, while Andy Craven and Nelson Valdez are hurting the depth up front and will likely force both Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins to play a full 90 minutes play extra time if need be.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We wanted to win this game. That was our objective going into this. We wanted a home match. Soccer is a part of the fabric of Seattle. It's not a novelty item. It's a part of the culture. It's a part of the community." – Sounders manager Sigi Schmid on clinching a home match on "Decision Day"
RECENT FORM
The best news for Seattle is that it hasn't been beaten in a match since a 2-0 loss at Real Salt Lake on August 22. The last time the Sounders were beaten here at CenturyLink Field was on August 1 by a game Vancouver side. That said, Seattle has had a huge string of 1-1 draws, the exact result in four of the team's last six matches.
As we mentioned earlier, the Galaxy are reeling and have to be kicking themselves. They were never really in it with a fight against Sporting Kansas City on "Decision Day," and that came on the heels of losing 5-2 at home against Portland to really put a massive damper on the rest of the year. The last time LA won an away fixture was on August 15. That happened to be against the best team in the West, FC Dallas. The talent is here to do damage. Whether that can be translated into playoff success remains to be seen.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
It's tough to turnaround a playoff game in 72 hours and get fans to come out and attend, but this is everything to the city of Seattle. The Sounders and their faithful are tired of being knocked out of the playoffs by this LA side, and this is the best opportunity to strike after being eliminated three straight times at the hands of their rivals.
Dempsey and Martins have been in fine form since they've gotten back on the pitch together, and for our money, they're the most dangerous duo in the league. They might need quite a bit to get through the Galaxy, but we think they're going to get the job done in what should be a real cracker of a match.
Seattle 4, LA 2
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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 the LA Galaxy will take place at 10:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at CenturyLink Field. The game will be broadcast live on UniMas.
