Starting XI presented by Modelo: LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders | September 23, 2018

StartingXI 2018
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Starting XI presented by Modelo: LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders | September 23, 2018 -

Starting XI


David Bingham; Rolf Feltscher, Dave Romney, Daniel Steres, Ashley Cole, Romain Alessandrini, Sebastian Lletget, Jonathan dos Santos, Emmanuel Boateng, Ola Kamara, Zlatan Ibrahimović.


Bench


Justin Vom Steeg, Servando Carrasco, Michael Ciani, Sheanon Williams, Perry Kitchen, Baggio Husidic, Ariel Lassiter.


Lineup Notes


  • OH COME ON! COME ON! John Strong and Stu Holden take the TV 1 booth for the third time this season, where they’ll look to repeat one of the most iconic goal calls in Major League Soccer history.
  • LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders face off for the second time this season and for the first time at StubHub Center.
  • In his second game as Interim Head Coach, Dominic Kinnear trots out a different Starting XI than we saw in Toronto, with a healthy Sebastian Lletget taking Perry Kitchen’s place in the middle, Emmanuel Boateng getting a start out wide and Daniel Steres filling in for an unhealthy Jorgen Skjelvik.
  • In net, David Bingham will get his 30th start of the MLS Regular Season, playing every single minute between the pipes this year for the Galaxy. He’s second in MLS for saves this season.
  • Rolf Feltscher returns to the starting lineup after scoring his first goal for LA Galaxy in the team’s 5-3 loss to Toronto last week. With a midseason injury, this will be Feltscher’s 12th start this season.
  • Daniel Steres returns to the lineup after being excluded from the 18 in Toronto due to injury. This will be Steres’ 10th start of the season.
  • Making his 20th consecutive start for the Galaxy this season is Dave Romney, who will get the nod in central defense for his 22nd start of the season. This will mark Romney’s 55th career start since making his MLS debut with the Galaxy in 2015.
  • Veteran Ashley Cole will captain the side from the left back position. Cole has recorded eight assists on the campaign this season, tied for the team lead with Zlatan Ibrahimović.
  • On the right, fan favorite Emmanuel Boateng gets his eighth start of the season for the Galaxy. Boateng made 17 starts in his first season with the Galaxy (2016) and 29 starts with the Galaxy in 2017. Boateng’s last start was on Aug. 18 against Seattle at CenturyLink Field.
  • In the middle is Sebastian Lletget, who returns to the starting lineup for the first time since Aug. 24 against LAFC. It’s Lletget’s first start since withdrawing from the USMNT camp earlier this month because of injury.
  • With him in the middle will be Jonathan dos Santos, who is coming off his first multi-assist game in MLS. Dos Santos has made 17 starts and 18 appearances for the Galaxy this season.
  • On the left in Romain Alessandrini, who will have the chance to swap roles on the wing with Ema Boateng throughout the game, according to head coach Dominic Kinnear. Alessandrini has scored in four of his last five matches for the Galaxy. With 9 goals on the season, Alessandrini is one away from his second season in MLS with 10+ goals.
  • Up top is Ola Kamara, who just secured his 10th goal of the MLS season, his third straight season of reaching the feat.
  • Leading the way is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Of the estimated 107,000,000,000 people who have lived on planet Earth, 28 have scored 500 or more goals for their professional soccer clubs and international countries. Three of them are currently playing. One of them is Zlatan Ibrahimović, who plays for the LA Galaxy. Watch out for that guy.


Game Notes


  • The Galaxy are 10-11-8 on the year, with 54 goals scored and 59 goals conceded.
  • The Galaxy are T-3 in MLS for goals scored this season.
  • This year at home the Galaxy are 6-4-4 to Seattle’s 6-5-3 away record.
  • Zlatan Ibrahimović averages 1.32 goals or assists per 90 minutes this season.
  • Romain Alessandrini has scored in four of his last five appearances for LA Galaxy II.
  • The Galaxy are 3-1-5 when leading at halftime and 6-2-6 when scoring the first goal of the match.
    • Conversely, they are 4-8-1 when trailing at half and 4-9-1 when conceding first this year.
  • Heading into the weekend, LA Galaxy sit eighth in the Western Conference standings, six points off of the 6th place Seattle Sounders.


Storylines


  • Can the Galaxy keep their playoff hopes alive with a win over Seattle?
  • Do Romney and Steres have what it takes to clean up the Galaxy defense?
  • How will Zlatan fare after reaching his historic milestone of 500 goals?


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