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It’s that time of the year for highly competitive North American soccer action as the MLS heads into its annual playoff format. The Western Conference Semifinals kick off this weekend, with enticing matches between #1 Los Angeles FC and #4 Seattle Sounders and #2 Los Angeles Galaxy and #6 Minnesota United.
Keep reading to see our latest picks for the MLS Western Conference Semifinals because we provided the full rundown of the playoffs below!
Get ready for some intense soccer action this weekend as the #1 team in the Western Conference takes on the #4 Seattle Sounders. Of course, by the end of the regular MLS season, LAFC would finish tied for 1st in the West in points with rivals LA Galaxy, as the #1 seed had a better goal differential. For this matchup, LAFC would net 63 regular season goals compared to the Seattle Sounders 51. However, the Sounders had a solid defensive season, letting up only 35 goals in 34 regular season games compared to LAFC’s 43.
LA are clear favorites in this one, and it’s nothing against the Sounders, but it’s most likely due to LA’s experience at this stage in the playoffs and their rampant goal-scoring talent. In the quarterfinals against Vancouver, LA would surprisingly score fewer goals throughout three games compared to opponents Vancouver Whitecaps, although they’d still find a way to come out victorious in the three-game series.
In LA’s second game against Vancouver, they let up 3 goals with nothing to show for it, a fact to keep in mind for this round. The Sounders would have a much different path to the semis, as they took down the Houston Dynamo twice in penalty kicks. The quarterfinal performance would show 2 things; LAFC is capable of a comeback, and Seattle can hold strong on defense. Something has to give, so I’ll back LAFC’s Denis Bouanga to find the back of the net because he scored in the opening playoff match against Vancouver and led LAFC with 21 goals in 35 games this season.
In the other matchup, #2 LA Galaxy takes on #6 Minnesota United, a team that’s achieved one of the best seasons throughout their MLS club history. As mentioned, LA Galaxy would end their regular season tied for first but bumped down to second off just 1 point on goal differential against counterparts LAFC. On the other hand, Minnesota United would finish 6th place in one of their best regular seasons to date, with an impressive 58 goals scored.
The Galaxy would show no signs of struggle in the quarterfinals, beating the Colorado Rapids in Game 1 (5-0) and Game 2 (4-1) to move on to the semis. Any team going up against a squad with 9 goals in 2 games is in for a match, and it would appear that the Galaxy takes the edge as the favorite in this showdown. The question for Minnesota United is, how long can they shut out LA before a goal slips through?
In their recent quarterfinals game against Real Salt Lake City FC, Minnesota won Games 1 and 2 of the series in penalty kicks after only scoring a total of 1 goal in two contests. When we look at stats on paper it may seem like a lost cause for Minnesota, but we all know soccer doesn’t necessarily follow books, as we could see a major upset on the horizon. That said, LA Galaxy has experience in the playoffs and an extremely strong lineup, making them top candidates to come out victorious in this one, along with Minnesota’s recent struggle to find the back of the net. Therefore, we’ll back LA’s Riqui Puig to score, as he tallied four goals against Colorado and has 17 goals this season.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.