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#1
Seattle vs Philadelphia
- Two newest teams in the league with start the 2010 season. Philadelphia have just one true playmaker, Fred, and he is suspended for the match due to red card with DC in final game of 2009. Because they are then so thin and young in MF they will go with a 4-3-3. I really like Philly's defense and it is really outstanding for an expansion club but the rest of this group is a joke. The avg age of the team is just 23 and much younger when you take away the back 4. The one wild card player for me is Nick Zimmerman who will start up front with Le Toux and Moreno. Last year he did show promise but still has never scored. Le Toux has 1 career MLS goal and Moreno is an old guy that can't beat any defender 1 on 1. The midfield is tough but void of any talent which is Seattle's strength, so expect the Sounders to dominate possession. Philly failed to score in either of their last two preseason games and Seattle struggled to find the net as well but both Moreno and Jaqua (doubtful tonight) are proven forwards and Ljungberg is one of the best attacking MF's in MLS. Seattle have rightback Riley suspended but the real key is for them to keep 11 guys on the field as 8 different matches last year had them end with just 10. Philly pulled 6 red cards in their preseason so don't be surprised is the Seattle pressure ends up in a Philly dismissal. The key for Seattle all last year was scoring first as they were 10-3-1 when doing so in 2009 and just 2-4-10 when not doing so. They were 7-3-0 when scoring at least one goal at home and allowed either 0 or 1 goal in 15 of 16 home games. They allowed no goal off a corner all season while leading MLS in goals for, so huge edge in set pieces, and they will pack neither 40k into Qwest Field which should rattle the young Union. In Ljungberg, Montero, Zakuani and Alonso the Sounders will have the 5 most talented midfielders and attackers on the field and I expect them to put too much pressure on Philly's solid defense to hold out for too long. Seattle 2-0

5/10 on Home (-.75) at 1.83 with Sbobet (Asian Handicap)
 

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