One of the top rivalries in Major League Soccer will resume this weekend, when Seattle Sounders FC plays host to the league-leading LA Galaxy on Sunday (6:30 pm PDT; FOX Sports 1) in the final regular-season meeting between the two sides.
The game marks the first league match at CenturyLink Field in nearly a month for the Sounders (14-13-4), who are unbeaten in their last five league games and currently hold the fourth spot in the Western Conference standings. The Sounders are 10-4-1 at home this season.
Thanks to a 3-2 win over visiting FC Dallas on Sunday night, the Galaxy (14-9-8) currently boast the most points in MLS (50), and have won five of their last eight league games. They are 2-8-5 on the road this season, and have not played in Seattle yet in 2015. They topped the Sounders 3-1 on August 9 and 1-0 on April 12, with both games held at the StubHub Center.
Sunday’s game should mark the first time this season that a healthy Sounders lineup will take the field against the Galaxy, after a number of key starters missed either the first or second match between the teams this season. It’s also the first time that some of the team’s key summer signings – midfielders Andreas Ivanschitz and Nelson Valdez chief among them – will face the Galaxy, who bring a star-studded lineup of their own to Seattle.
Reigning league MVP Robbie Keane leads the way for the Galaxy this season with 16 goals and eight assists, but the game will also mark the Seattle debut of midfielder Steven Gerrard and striker Giovani dos Santos, both of whom scored in the team’s win over Dallas over the weekend.
Star forward Clint Dempsey – who has not played against the Galaxy this season – has scored two goals in four regular season games against LA since he joined the Sounders in 2013, while Obafemi Martins has yet to score in six career regular season games against LA.
The Sounders are 3-3-2 all-time during the regular season against the Galaxy at CenturyLink Field, including the team’s 2-0 win over LA in the 2014 regular season finale that clinched Seattle’s first-ever Supporters’ Shield. The Galaxy lead the all-time regular season series 8-4-5.
Sunday's match will be the third full stadium match of the season at CenturyLink Field. The Sounders are 1-1-0 in full stadium matches in 2015.
