The Seattle Sounders will open the 2024 regular season against the same opponent they finished the 2023 season with. But the LAFC the Sounders will face today is a much different team than that. The big absentee is Carlos Vela, who may eventually return but will not play this week. Key defensive players Kellyn Acosta, Maxime Crepeau and Diego Palacios also left.
Of course, Dennis Bouanga is back, even if at one point it looks like he might force a move.
LAFC has replenished its roster, although it is still a little incomplete. Crepeau was replaced by Hugo Lloris, with Eduardo Atuesta returning to midfield. There are still big questions at the forward, but that has always been the case since Cristian Arango left.
The Sounders come into this game not fully fit. João Paulo, Stefan Frei, Alberto Rusnak and Eimar Gomez Andrade are all officially absent or have made an unexpected appearance, while Pedro de la Vega could be given a one-minute cap. Highly sexual.
- LAFC is 6-0-0 overall in MLS regular season openers. That includes a 1-0 road win against the Sounders in 2018.
- The Sounders are 8-6-0 in regular season openers, with all but one of those games being played at home. The only other time they opened on the road was in 2017, when they lost 2-1 to the Houston Dynamo.
- LAFC went 2-0-1 against the Sounders last year and went 1-0 in the playoffs. The Sounders were scoreless in those games and have scored just two goals in their past six games against LAFC.
- The Sounders are 1-6-1 all-time at BMO Stadium, with their only win coming in the 2019 Western Conference Finals.
- Last year, LAFC became the fastest team in MLS history to reach 300 points, surpassing the Sounders’ record by four games.
- A substitute referee will be used for this match as the PRO locked out officials during a contract dispute.
Absent: injury, international duty, suspension
Seattle
Reid Baker Whiting – Left Hamstring (Out)
Stephen Fry – Right hamstring (out)
João Paulo – Left hip (out)
Braudilio Rodriguez – Right hamstring (out)
Pedro de la Vega – Not due to injury (doubtful)
Eimar Gomez Andrade – Not due to injury (doubtful)
Albert Rusnak – Right ankle (doubtful)
L.A.F.C.
Lorenzo Della Valle – Right knee (out)
official
Reference person: Wesley Costa. AR: Bruno Rizzo, Miguel Yupari. 4th place: Gabriele Ciampi. VAR: To be determined; Avar: To be determined.
How to watch
Match day/kickoff time: Saturday, 1:45 p.m.
venue: BMO Stadium, Los Angeles
global streaming english: MLS Season Pass (Jake Zivin & Taylor Twellman)
Global Streaming Spanish: MLS Season Pass (Sammy Sadovnik & Diego Valeri)
english tv: Fox (Joe Marfa & Jamie Watson)
local radio: 950 KJR-AM Seattle; iheartmedia (Danny Jackson & Brad Evans)
Spanish local radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Mario Rodriguez, Felipe Maqueda, Carlos Tapia, Marlo Villela)
Can this game be streamed for free? yes
Is Sounders Radio available as an alternative feed? no
lineup
Highlights will be posted as the game progresses.
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