Geoff Johnson
Seattle Sounders (+129) vs FC Dallas (+190), Draw (+210)
The best team in the Western Conference is set to meet the worst when FC Dallas (11-5-4) take on the Seattle Sounders (5-10-2) this Wednesday (July 13) at CenturyLink Field in Seattle (10:30 PM Eastern).
FC Dallas are on top of the West with 37 points after 20 games (11 wins, 5 losses, 4 draws). They’re three points clear of the second-place Colorado Rapids, but Colorado have two games in hand. If the Toros are going to stay in first, they can’t afford to drop points to a team like Seattle, which sits 20 points below them in the standings.
The Dallas offense has been a force all season. The team is tied with the LA Galaxy as the highest-scoring squad in the Western Conference with 31 goals. Their defense, however, has left a little to be desired, allowing an average of 1.2 goals per game. That said, they have posted three clean sheets in a row, leading to a three-game win-streak: Real Salt Lake (2-0), Orlando City (4-0) and San Jose Earthquakes (1-0).
Seattle, on the other hand, have been just as bad recently as they were at the outset of the year. The Sounders have lost three of their last four and have just one win in their last eight. Seattle has a conference-worst -7 goal differential and a league-low 14 goals.
With just 17 points in 17 fixtures (5 wins, 10 losses, 2 draws), the Sounders are one point behind ninth-place Houston. They have a game in hand, but will struggle to make use of it on Wednesday. Dallas have taken the last two from Seattle, including a 2-0 win earlier this year. Dallas have won the last two meetings against Seattle, including a 2-0 victory this season.
You can’t place your money on a team like Seattle, even if they are playing at home.
Pick: FC Dallas (+190).
(Photo Credit: Francoise (Flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/])
