Major League Soccer Playoffs, Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders, Leg 1: A Halloween Treat

There’s plenty to like about this matchup between the Supporters’ Shield winners and the second-half’s best team.

The Los Angeles Galaxy play a classic counter-strike style, with a team that can play lockdown defense while still unleashing plenty of offensive firepower.

The Sounders tend to play a little more of an attacking style that features lots of speed down the wings and quality possession play in the middle.

In the two early-season encounters, the Galaxy’s style was dramatically superior. The Galaxy won the two matches by an aggregate score of 7-1.

Much has changed since the second of those two meetings, though. The Sounders will start four players today that did not even play in that July 4 match, and one more will be playing a different position.

The most significant change is at central midfielder where Nathan Sturgis and Osvaldo Alonso have formed an impressive partnership. The Sounders have gone 9-1-2 in games they have started together in the midfield and the team has benefitted from their complementing styles. Both players are capable of joining the attack, but are more often used as holding midfielders.

Blaise Nkufo and Sanna Nyassi did not play in either of those earlier games. Nkufo has contributed five goals and the Sounders have gone 8-1-1 in MLS games he’s started and scored an average of 2.0 goals per match, more than twice as many goals as the Sounders scored in games he didn’t start. Similarly, the Sounders have gone 10-2-0 in Nyassi’s starts and featured 10 straight wins.

The other significant change is at centerback, where Patrick Ianni and Jeff Parke are now paired. Their pairing debut actually came in the U.S. Open Cup match against the Galaxy on July 7, and the Sounders have gone 10-2-3 in MLS play since then.

The Galaxy, too, have undergone some changes. David Beckham has actually never played against the Sounders at Qwest Field and missed all three of the teams’ meetings this year. Centerback Gregg Berhalter is expected to be available for the match, but he has played sparingly since the teams’ last meeting. More generally, the Galaxy have lost six times since July 4 after losing just one of their previous 15.

Kirsten Schlewitz will have an active stream at SB Nation-Seattle.

For a more tactical look and downloadable match card, check out our preview from earlier in the week.