This Thursday promises to be a hard-fought game in Seattle
as the Sounders play host to the the New York Red Bulls. New York is
flying high in the East and will need to win to pull back some points from
Seattle.
Soccer fans in Seattle have to be relatively pleased with
how their team has performed up until this point in the 2011/12 MLS season.
The Sounders are third in the Eastern Conference table at
the moment, behind only FC Dallas and the L.A. Galaxy and have 25 points to New York's 23, albeit having played two more games. They enter Thursday's
affair having not lost since a May 25 defeat to that very same Dallas team.
On Saturday Fredy Montero provided the late fireworks,
scoring the game-winner with just minutes remaining in a 1-0 victory over
Toronto FC.
That same weekend the Red Bulls were in action as well,
paying a visit to Portland to slug it out with the Timbers. It was a thrilling
90 minutes, the game ending in a 3-3 tie.
Austin Da Luz and Thierry Henry scored, but it was Dwayne De
Rosario that secured the point for New York. He was money from the penalty spot
in stoppage time. However the night ended on a sour note as Henry was shown a red card for an altercation with Portland midfielder Adam Moffat and he will miss this game.
Though the Red Bulls are now undefeated in their previous
six matches, five of those have ended in draws, suggesting they haven't had the
grittiness to clamp down victories.
As we take a look at the betting odds for this fixture across the
board, we see the Sounders favored at anywhere from +105 at Bookmaker to +125
at 5Dimes.
The visiting Red Bulls are therefore holding some attractive
action, priced as high as +247 at Pinnacle to win at CenturyLink Field in
Seattle.
Thierry Henry - hero to villain?
The word “goal” has become synonymous with Henry's name, so
it's a big blow to the Red Bulls that he will not be lacing up his boots on Sunday night. With the absence of the baby faced assassin how about we run down those you need to keep an eye
out for within this Seattle squad?
For me the two most influential players on this Sounders
roster are Brad Evans and Fredy Montero.
Evans, a 26-year old midfielder, reigns supreme across the
team with four goals, showing a keen eye for goal in what has been his most
impressive season of his young career so far.
He's joined by Montero, an electrifying Colombian forward
who's racked up three goals and four assists in 15 appearances for Seattle.
The Sounders have other players that can hurt you, including
playmaker Mauro Rosales and even Alvaro Fernandez, who's netted three goals
this campaign.
Figuring out exactly who to watch out for the Red Bulls
isn't as challenging. World-renowned striker Thierry Henry has been reborn in
the United States in his second full season with New York, piling it on with
eight goals.
That puts him tied with USA international Landon Donovan for
first place in Major League Soccer.
Without their ex Arsenal and Barcelona man, the Red Bulls will be happy to retain the services of
Dwayne De Rosario after he served for Canada in the Gold Cup. He has two goals
and four assists already this season.
In two meetings last year, the teams split 1-0 victories on
one another's home field. And with both sides playing at a high level in recent
weeks, I see a tight scoreline when this match is said and done.
Without Henry the Red Bulls are the underdogs in the soccer odds and with Seattle riding high they have a great opportunity to claim a coveted scalp. I'll roll with a closely-contested game but see the Sounders claiming the win.
FREE Pick: Seattle 1 New York 0