Familiar foes Seattle Sounders-LAFC set for heavyweight clash | OneFootball

By Ari Liljenwall

As each juggle Concacaf Champions Cup obligations, Seattle Sounders FC and LAFC are set to write another chapter in their Western Conference rivalry in Saturday's Matchday 3 clash at Lumen Field (4:45 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+; FOX, FOX Deportes).

While Seattle's top rival remains Cascadia foe Portland Timbers and LAFC's will always be El Tráfico counterpart LA Galaxy, Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák answered in the affirmative when asked Friday if matches against the Black & Gold have a derby feel to them.

"Yeah I would say so, 100 percent," Rusnák said. "We met them so many times last year and finally in the playoffs we got over the hurdle. But for the majority of the times they've gotten the better of us.

"So I think tomorrow, even though it's the third game of the season, I think it could be a momentum swing in our way and build on the playoff win in extra-time that we got."

Saturday's match arrives as both clubs navigate their CCC Round of 16 series. LAFC are 3-0 aggregate leaders over the Columbus Crew, while Seattle are locked in a 0-0 deadlock with LIGA MX's Cruz Azul after Leg 1.

While that might necessitate squad rotation on each side, LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo expects as tough a match as ever.

"Brian [Schmetzer] has consistently, over many, many years, one of the most competitive teams and group of players in the league," Cherundolo said. "And that makes them very successful. And so that is something you have to understand when you play against Seattle.

"... We’ll put a team out that’s more than capable of coming away with points."

The clubs have experienced differing fortunes in league play as they balance the competitions. LAFC have won each of their first two matches of their MLS season, while the Sounders have taken just one out of a possible six points.

"We obviously haven't started good in MLS, we don't have a win in two games," Rusnák said. "So this game is just as important as the one in Cruz Azul on Tuesday."

For LAFC, it's a chance to avenge last year's 2-1 extra-time defeat to Seattle at BMO Stadium in the semifinals of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, which flipped the script on a lengthy period of domination for the Black & Gold over the Rave Green.

“We have a difficult match. It’s always a tough road trip to Seattle, but also a lot of fun to participate in these matches and to watch them," Cherundolo said.

“You have to keep an eye on the bigger picture and just the general loading and less on results and advancing, and this and that. So the health and the freshness of the players, physically and mentally, is always the first priority before we think about results.”

Seattle Sounders vs. LAFC: Who has the edge?