The knockout round of the Leagues Cup tournament starts Thursday night for the Galaxy on the road against a familiar foe in the Seattle Sounders.
Through a ranking system, which takes into account a team’s 2023 finish, the Galaxy, despite winning its group will be on the road, starting with the Round of 32. The winner will face either the Vancouver Whitecaps or UNAM Pumas in the Round of 16.
“We’re in the tournament to win the tournament,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “We have a tough road. We won our group, but somehow we’re going to be playing on the road, I’m still trying to explain that to our locker room. That you can win your group and play on the road, but the team that finished second (Seattle in Group F) can play at home, it’s an interesting one to explain.
“But we know, to win this tournament, there’s a good chance that we might have to play every game from here on out on the road, which doesn’t play in our favor, but we understand the challenges in front of us.”
The team rankings are based on combined MLS and Liga MX club performance based on points from last season. MLS teams are ranked based on the 2023 MLS Supporters’ Shield standings and Liga MX squads are ranked on the how they finished in the Clausura and Apertura tournaments.
The Galaxy are in the third tier of teams, seeded 41st.
This is third meeting between the teams this year, with the Galaxy owning a 1-0 win and a scoreless draw.
“They’re always going to be tough to beat in these types of settings because they’re tried and tested in playoff or knockout or tournament events,” Vanney said. “They’re going to be on their home field in the comfort of their statement. The good thing is we went up there (on May 5), 0-0 last match, we didn’t have Riqui (Puig), Mark (Delgado) and Dejan Joveljic, I think our team is a little more together right now.
“It should be interesting. All of these games are great competition. We know they’re going to give up a ton of goals, that’s going to require us to be nice and solid on the defensive side as well and find our ways to try to pick up the speed of the game on the turf. Last time we went up there, it was a little bit slower.”
The Sounders wrapped up group play Sunday with a 3-1 loss against Necaxa. The Galaxy finished with a 2-2 draw against Chivas, winning the penalty kick shootout (5-4) for the extra point.
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“It was a good day, they packed the stadium with their fans and you could see red all around,” Galaxy midfielder Edwin Cerrillo said of the meeting last Sunday with Chivas. “From the kickoff, their fans were loud and they set the tone for the game. High-intensity game. … It was good to have that game and having to get a result put us in a position to where we had to play our best and be at the top of our game.”
“We’re in the knockout stages and I think the last game prepared us and gave us a sense of what tomorrow (Thursday) would be.”
The Galaxy will be without defender Emiro Garces, who suffered an ankle injury in the game against Chivas. Vanney doesn’t believe his absence will be long-term. Joveljic (hamstring) and Aude (hernia surgery) are still both out.
GALAXY vs. SEATTLE SOUNDERS
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Lumen Field; Seattle, Washington
How to watch: Apple TV+
