Three keys as Sounders face rival Galaxy in US Open Cup quarterfinals

July has been a crazy month for the Sounders, and it won’t be letting up anytime soon. On the heels of their 3-1 loss in Portland, they’re in Los Angeles to play in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal against the Galaxy tonight. The Sounders earned their place in this level of the tournament after defeating Real Salt Lake in penalty kicks, a match in which young goalkeeper Tyler Miller made a name for himself.

The Galaxy’s defeat of the Timbers in the round of 16 on a goal from homegrown midfielder Raul Mendiola is what sent Los Angeles to this match. Much like the Sounders against RSL, the Galaxy sent out a mixed lineup in that match; only the back line began with mostly starters. The Galaxy will be pleased to host the Sounders at home, especially considering the only matchup between the teams this season ended 1-0 to Los Angeles. In the league, at least, the Galaxy has had a pretty good year and is  sitting in third in the West with 32 points, 12 more than Seattle has.

Here are three keys to tonight’s match, which you can hear at 7:30 on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM (pregame coverage begins at 7) or watch on SoundersFC.com:

Rotation in both lineups: Fixture congestion is a real problem in soccer, most clearly shown in times like this as the Sounders will play three matches in seven days. Los Angeles will have a couple of extra days of rest heading into the match, but its league match comes a little sooner than the Sounders’. This means both teams will be rotating players in and out of their squads for the Open Cup, and Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said as much this week. Seattle’s team of mostly second-stringers held on to beat RSL in the last round, so I think we can expect a similar team to run out against Los Angeles. I think fans will want to see more from Miller, who made phenomenal saves against RSL both during regular time and in the penalty shootout. Other players likely to get a start: Herculez Gomez, Oniel Fisher, Tony Alfaro, Oalex Anderson and Darwin Jones. The Galaxy rested all three designated players in its last USOC match against Portland, and the team will likely do the same against Seattle.

Even with second-stringers, both teams need the win: The Sounders need the win because the Open Cup is just about the only trophy they’ve got a shot at winning this year. Guys like Gomez and Nelson Valdez likely won’t be around in 2017, so they’ll be hoping to at least work for a trophy during their respective stints at Seattle. The Galaxy, which has been around since the inception of MLS, has only won the Open Cup twice. Compared to the Sounders’ four USOC trophies since 2009, that’s pretty unimpressive. So even though the Galaxy has dominated in the other major competitions, USOC supremacy still eludes the team.

LA’s defense will be hard to beat: Even though Los Angeles ran out mostly backup and young attackers and midfielders against Portland, the team’s back line was packed with usual starters like Ashley Cole, Jelle Van Damme and A.J. DeLaGarza. There’s no reason to think that tonight’s starting XI won’t have a similar set of experienced defenders, so the Sounders will need to think strategically. An attacking group of Valdez, Gomez and/or Jones doesn’t exactly strike fear into defenders’ hearts, so  Schmid might need to consider if a start for Jordan Morris is worth the risk in this match.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.