Monday evening sees the third of four fixtures in the Western Conference playoffs, with #4 seed Minnesota United hosting #5 Seattle Sounders.
Game Details
Monday, October 27th 9:00pm ET
Allianz Field, St. Paul, MN
Broadcast nationally on FS1 and FOX Deportes
Streaming (free) on AppleTV+
Minnesota United
Minnesota United have been the epitome of consistency in the Western Conference. Since Week 5, they were either second or third in the table… until two weeks ago.
With only two wins in their last seven games, including a Decision Day stumble to the lowly LA Galaxy, the Loons dropped down into the fourth seed and now face fellow northern latitude outfit Seattle Sounders. Historically, Seattle dominates this match-up, with seven wins in their last ten meetings. But crucially, Minnesota have taken the last two from this season by one-goal margins.
In true Minnesotan fashion, there’s nothing flashy about this team. They have one of the lowest possession percentages of any playoff team (39.3%), but have only conceded a paltry 1.1 goals per match. Their bedrock is the backline, and from that they’ll spring counter attacks and build-up play.
One reason for Minnesota’s loss of form was the late August trade of Tani Oluwaseyi to La Liga side Villareal. The Canadian forward is still the club’s highest goal scorer with 10. But the club did some smart business by signing Australian midfielder Nectarios Triantis from Sunderland. Since his September arrival he has 2g/2a in 5 games. Striker Kelvin Yeboah has matched last season’s goal tally (9), but the Loons will need him to step up in this series. Midfielder Joaquín Pereyra is the offensive architect. With 6g/8a on the season, he pulls the strings and links everyone together. Left wing-back Anthony Markanich also has nine goals to his name.
Seattle Sounders
If there’s one team you probably don’t want to see in your playoff pathway, it’s Seattle. They are a perennial playoff side, having made the postseason 16 of their 17 seasons in MLS. They win, too. They’ve failed to advance out of their initial seeding round only twice in those sixteen appearances.
That postseason culture of excellence counts for a lot, and you saw it in full effect during the Leagues Cup. Facing a heavily-favored Inter Miami, they shut Messi & co. down while unleashing terror from the right side via Alex Roldán & Paul Rothrock. Neither of those players is a team leader in either goals or assists, but they did the business on that night.
And that’s the thing with Seattle. Any one of their players is capable of rising to the occasion and putting on a show. But that’s also one of this club’s biggest issues: there’s no single player upon which the system is built around. And then there’s the dichotomy of home vs. road performance.
Lumen Field is a fortress. The Sounders have 10 wins, 5 draws and a single loss in league play at home. Contrast that to their road record of 5 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses. As the #5 seed, they’ll have to win at least one of their visits to Allianz stadium. Frankly, I don’t see that happening,
Prediction
Sound defense and two games at home? I’m picking Minnesota United to take this in three games.
