MLS : LA Galaxy- Colorado Rapids

 

We have done well opposing Rapids on the road this season and whilst we only got our money back last week, when they travelled to Seattle ( notes reproduced below), the stake was never really at risk and on another day Souders would have got the second goal from six decent attempts and maybe a third. If you look at the "key stat" for Saturday's game, that was again the period that Rapids were vulnerable and Seattle scored (through Dempsey) in the 54th minute, it was also the period of the game that Colorado gave up most possession, with Seattle dominating through the middle of the game, having 63.1% of the ball in the first 15 minutes of the second half and 60.9% through the next 15 , those stats were even worse (for Rapids) just before the break and they definitely lose focus through the heart of the game after usually starting quite strongly. Joe Nasco making his debut in the visitors goal was their stand out performer and he will probably need to produce similar heroics to keep his team in this fixture tonight. The schedule has not been kind and playing the two best teams in the West, both on the road inside 7 days, when you are not in the best of shape anyway, is cruel.
 

LA have scored 13 goals in their last four starts, which included four on the road against Rapids just 15 days ago, where Galaxy came back from 3-1 down at the break. It was actually 3-1 after 29 minutes, with Colorado catching LA cold early, you can watch eight minutes of highlights from that game on this link. It was one way traffic for the final hour and you can see the enormous problems Rapids had defending any ball into the box, three of the four goals came via dead ball situations or crosses with Galaxy winning everything in the air, especially through Omar Gonzalez, it was painful to watch ! Gonzalex scored one, was denied a second by a fine save and laid on a third and he will surely be up for this tonight and looking forward to the game. Seattle had a huge number of crosses into the Rapids box (21) and the visitors have clearly been unable to stop the supply. Robbie Keane is missing for the hosts, away on international duty, but Alan Gordon scored in Colorado and will step in for him this evening.
 

The situation is more than balanced out with Rapids losing top scorer Deshorn Brown who has joined up with Jamaica and with influential captain Drew Moor (see below) still out injured and sorely missed.
 

 

 

 

Sounders swept aside any fatigue concerns ( see last week's preview) with their high scoring win in Portland and will be looking to follow up in front of their own supporters this weekend. After they fought back to claim a 4-4 draw at Timbers earlier in the season, they went on a tear up, winning their next five and scoring 13 goals, Clint Dempsey scored seven over that six game sequence and he and the club might go on a similar run again, with the 4-2 win signalling their first win in three and his first MLS goals in six weeks.
 

On of those five straight wins was a 4-1 defeat of Rapids here in late April and those notes are reproduced below.  Odds are a little shorter, but we 100% know where we stand with Seattle now and similarly with Rapids, which is not as good as they might have looked earlier in the campaign. The visitors have lost five in a row, conceding a whopping 15 goals in the process, 3 or more in four and four in each of the last two, including at home to LA Galaxy, a match where they led 3-1 at the break, conceding three unanswered second half goals. A visit here is the last thing they need and if they fall behind, this could get ugly and fast. The visitors arrive without several key players including captain Drew Moor , Shane O'Neill and Jared Watts , that robs them of two defensive starters and all three played in the previous meeting here. Circa 3.0 for Sounders to score over 2.5 goals looks big, but I will keep this simple......

 

1.5 units Seattle Sounders -1 ball 2.12 asian line/Sportmarket.
 

 

 

MLS: Seattle Sounders  -Colorado Rapids  (April 26th)

We have spoken many times about Seattle as one of the great sporting cities, teams here get amazing support and I think it is payback time tonight and an opportunity for Sounders to reproduce the results and entertainment they have been showing on the road. They have ten points from four away starts scoring 11 goals, but lost their last two here at CenturyLink Field, with a bit of a whimper. We opposed them in the first of those, a 2-1 loss to Toronto FC......
 

I suspect the game will flow a little more tonight and Seattle will have the edge in fitness, with Toronto having sat out opening weekend. There is a crazy amount of interest in this fixture with the visitors having invested heavily in new and big name talent. Signing Jermain Defoe from Tottenham, US star midfielder Michael Bradley and goalkeeper Julio Cesar, Steven Caldwell another player european football followers will know impressed on loan last year and has also been added on a permanent deal. Local lad Dwayne de Rosario MLS MVP two seasons back has returned to his home Province and this is a group as far removed from last season's no hopers as you could wish to see. They do have some defensive issues today and will need time to gel and will will discuss them in far greater detail over the coming weeks, but I want to try something small on them this evening, as we might not get really big odds again and maybe this is a good time to face Seattle. TFC will also have been able to watch Sounders last week , which might tactically give them a small edge. I hope we see all the three big names from the off and this will be hugely informative if nothing else.
 

Road wins at Dallas and Chivas ( they did not play well there, but it was a little "brutal") and a 4-4 draw at Portland ( ouch !) have got them back on track and they will be hugely motivated to win what is the first of three home games in 11 days. Key to the upturn in fortune has been six goals from Clint Dempsey and Sounders usually taking a couple of weeks to fire, they are, however, unbeaten in 13 April starts across four seasons and can continue that sequence this evening. Interestingly, Sounders have been fouled seven times more than the MLS average through seven games and I wonder just how many goals they could have scored if the games had flowed just a little more freely, it certainly highlights how potent they are offensively and how teams fear them.
 

Rapids are a "perfect" 7 from 7 in that they have not scored or conceded a first half goal all season , or scored on the road inside 70 minutes. So hard to see them putting Sounders under too much pressure early, if they do hold out, I do not think Sounders will panic, they are 7-1-0 at home to Colorado in all meetings and have led at the break in only one of the last five wins.
 

Rapids to sit back, hand all the initiative to the hosts and look to play on the counter, Dempsey and Obefami Martins are a dangerous front pair to play that game with and although left back Leo Gonzalez looks set to miss out, the only two Seattle clean sheets have come in his absence and it is compensated for by Brad Evans set to be available for 90 minutes ( or close) if required. He, like Dempsey and all the US national team players are hugely motivated in World Cup year to impress and book their place to Brazil over the next few weeks.