Seattle sounders vs necaxa Starting XI:Andrew Thomas gets his second straight start, while Danny Musovski gets the lead
Seattle sounders vs necaxa
Club Necaxa will be the guest of the Sounders tonight at 7:30 PM on MLS Season Pass. There is no cost to stream the game.
For the first time ever, the Seattle Sounders and Necaxa of Liga MX square off in a competitive game tonight. In home games against Liga MX opponents, the Sounders have an all-time record of 7-3-1 across all competitions, including five wins in a row. The Sounders’ most recent home loss to a Liga MX team was against Santos Laguna in 2013, a 1-0 loss.
Necaxa enters this game having fallen to Minnesota United 1-0 in their Leagues Cup debut on Tuesday. Necaxa took 30 shots in that game and forced Dayne St. Claire of Minnesota to make 14 saves. Before the Leagues Cup, Necaxa had a 1-2-1 record in Liga MX play.
Diber Cambindo, a Colombian who scored eight goals in 14 games in the previous campaign, is leading the line for Necaxa. He has scored two goals in the team’s first four Liga MX games this year. The Argentine Jose Paradela, who has two assists in four games this year and five goals and three assists in the previous tournament, is Necaxa’s best playmaker.
Situations
- Each group’s top two teams move on. Thanks to their 2-0 victory over Minnesota United last week, the Sounders will guarantee one of those berths in West Group 6, provided they don’t lose by four goals or more
- In the Round of 32, the Sounders’ group will play West Group 2, which is presently led by the LA Galaxy (3 points), San Jose Earthquakes (2 points), and Chivas (1 point). Tonight the Galaxy host Chivas.
- If the Sounders progress, they would travel if they were drawn against Chivas and host if they were matched against the Galaxy or Earthquakes.
The Sounders defeated Minnesota 2-0 on July 26 to take the lead in the West 6 rankings. Necaxa is last following their 1-0 loss to the Loons on Tuesday. Nonetheless, there are still two spots available for the knockout round.
The easiest path forward for Seattle is to triumph. Both sides would receive a point for a draw at the end of regulation, and the victor of the next penalty kick shootout would receive an additional point.
To eliminate the local team, Necaxa would need to defeat the Sounders by a margin of four goals. After losing both of its games to C.F. Monterrey and Real Salt Lake by a combined score of 7-2, Seattle was eliminated from the Leagues Cup group stage the previous year.
Absent assault
Through five games across all competitions, Los Rayos have only managed one victory to start the season. This year, the attack-oriented squad has had trouble finishing and has been shut out in three games. To end the drought, Necaxa coach Eduardo Fentanes will turn to forwards Diber Cambindo and Brayan Garnica.
Many choices
Moving forward With midfielder Josh Atencio (international service) and forward Raúl Ruidíaz (knee) sidelined, Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer has a wealth of choices to help his team to the Round of 32. Pedro de la Vega, a midfielder for the Sounders, is anticipated to start for the third time in a row and may get prolonged play for the first time since joining the team as a young designated player in January.
Schmetzer might take a different approach considering Seattle’s two-goal lead. A powerful defensive line will be essential to containing a goal-crazed Necaxa.
Citable
“It may not have gone as planned, but these are the things that happen in life sometimes,” de la Vega remarked, referring to the fact that she missed most of the season because of hamstring strains. “I haven’t played in a while, but having those minutes has already made me feel better. For instance, the team performed admirably in the most recent game. Thus, [I want to] keep playing and accumulating minutes in this manner.
