Match Focus: Sounders vs Galaxy to decide the Supporters' Shield

As far as heavyweight clashes go, this is Major League Soccer’s greatest offering. The LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders aren’t just two of the biggest clubs in North America, they’re the best two as well.

The West coast sides will complete a quickfire double-header this weekend in the final game of the regular season with the Supporters’ Shield on the line. The stakes are high. They are, however, higher for the Galaxy, who let their grasp on the Shield slip in three second half minutes against the Sounders last week. Goals from Baggio Husidic and Marcelo Sarvas had put LA within sight of clinching the regular season title, but strikes from Clint Dempsey and Lamar Neagle means the fight goes to the wire.

Both teams are tied on 61 points from 33 games, five points clear of the nearest challenger in the Western Conference. LA and Seattle have been out on their own for much of the campaign, with most backing one or the other as favourites for the MLS Cup.

So which is the better team? Who is in the best shape going into the final clash of the regular season? Will the Supporters’ Shield be going to the Pacific Northwest or California?

The Galaxy come into the game on slightly better recent form, having claimed victory in three of their last five fixtures compared with the Sounders’ two. The Galaxy also better their Western Conference counterparts in both the Goals For and Goals Against columns.

But football games are won and lost by football players. In Robbie Keane the Galaxy have arguably the best player in the league. Indeed, the Republic of Ireland international will be a contender for the annual MVP award, netting an impressive 18 goals in 28 starts this term. In terms of WhoScored’s average rating system, the Galaxy boast three of MLS’s five best performing players (Keane, Landon Donovan and Omar Gonzalez).

The Galaxy also possesses one of the most prolific passers in the league, with Juninho averaging 65 passes per game from his deep-lying position in the team’s midfield. Meanwhile, Donovan might be retiring at the end of the season, but that’s not to say that the legendary US National Team figure has taken his foot off the gas. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The 32-year-old leads MLS in key passes per game this season, with 3.6, putting him ahead of the likes of Javier Morales, Diego Valeri and Federico Higuain – all more traditional playmakers.

That’s on top of the 14 assists – making him the league’s most prolific assister – and 10 goals he has contributed this season too. The pressure is on the Galaxy to give Donovan the send-off he deserves, but the man himself is playing his part in that ambition as well.

The Galaxy lead the league for shots on goal per game (16) with the Sounders ranked second with 14.1 per game. The same goes for shots on target per game, with the Galaxy leading the Sounders 6 to 5.6. It’s a pattern that permeates all the way through MLS’s numbers and figures.

So considering the Galaxy’s statistical strength how have the Sounders claimed joint-top spot in the Shield standings going into the final fixture of the regular season?

Well, for a start Seattle have Osvaldo Alonso, most probably the most effective defensive midfielder in MLS. The Cuban-born player averages 3.8 tackles per game from his pivot position in the centre of the field, giving the likes of Dempsey, Neagle and Obafemi Martins the platform to attack with freedom.

Of course, Dempsey has been a major factor in the Sounders’ regular season charge this year, scoring 15 goals in 22 starts – a remarkable figure when you consider he can’t even be classed as an out-and-out striker. Martins has also pulled his weight in front of goal for Seattle, with his 17 goals ranking him inside the league’s top five goalscorers for the 2014 campaign. It’s an even more impressive return when you factor in his average of just 2.6 shots on goal per game, compared with Dempsey’s 4.5, for example.

Both clubs have used their Designated Player slots very well, with Donovan, Keane and Gonzalez for the Galaxy, and Alonso, Dempsey and Martins for the Sounders. So many clubs waste their DP slots, but not these two teams.

Perhaps these two teams have amassed the same points tally because they essentially play the same style and system. The personal rivalry between Bruce Arena and Sigi Schmid has long been intense, but the two coaches employ a similar 4-4-2 formation, although the latter does expect more from his attacking full-backs. On the face of it, that’s the only stylistic difference between the two sides.

In the grand scheme of things the Supporters’ Shield means little. Look at how the New York Red Bulls claimed it last year, only to crash out of the playoffs at the first opportunity. In a league that is geared so much towards the post-season, regular season accolades are something of a footnote.

But then, most regular season accolades aren’t decided by a grudge match played in front of 60,0000 fans on the final day of the campaign.

Who do you think will be triumphant in LA Galaxy vs Seattle Sounders this weekend? Let us know in the comments below