Seattle Sounders vs FC Dallas Odds & Preview: MLS Cup Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals

• The Seattle Sounders will host FC Dallas on Tuesday. December 1, 2020, in the Western Conference Semifinals
• FC Dallas have not won in Seattle since 2011
• See the odds and our game preview for Tuesday’s match below

On Tuesday night at 9:30 pm EST the West’s second-place, Seattle Sounders will host sixth-place FC Dallas at Lumen Field.

Seattle were convincing 3-1 winners over LAFC in Round One while FC Dallas advanced on penalties over MLS is Back champs Portland.

They’ll now meet the MLS Cup champions in what is a rematch of last year’s Round One meeting where Seattle advanced through a 4-3 extra-time victory.

Seattle Sounders vs FC Dallas Odds

All odds taken Nov 30 at Bet365

The Sounders jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in that one, before Dallas draw level in the 63′ minute. The teams each exchanged another goal before the end of regulation to end level 3-3. Jordan Morris then completed his hat-trick for the win in the 113′ minute.

The teams haven’t played each other in 2020, so that defeat will surely still be on the mind for Dallas when they meet in the MLS Cup Playoffs Conference Semifinals.

Sounders’ Stars Power Seattle to 3-1 Win

The reigning champs had just one win in six matches heading into Decision Day and that came against the lowly Vancouver Whitecaps. The final day of the regular season though, saw them turn in a complete effort in a 4-1 win over San Jose.

That momentum carried over to their Round One match against LAFC on Tuesday. Nicolas Lodeiro put Seattle ahead early 18 minutes in, which was the only goal until Raul Ruidiaz doubled the Sounders’ lead in the 66′ minute.

Eduard Atuesta’s 77′ minute goal gave LAFC re-newed life. But Jordan Morris put the game to bed with Seattle’s third goal just three minutes later for a 3-1 win.

In all, Lodeiro and Morris each had a goal and assist, while Ruidiaz was involved in all three, tallying a goal and two assists.

LAFC were playing short-handed with the likes of Diego Rossi, Brian Rodriguez, Jose Cifuentes and Diego Palacios all out after testing positive for coronavirus while on international duty.

FC Dallas Advance on PKs

Dallas was not the most consistent team this season but Luchi Gonzalez’s side is hot at the right time with wins in three of their past four matches. Dallas went into Decision Day on the back of 2-1, 3-0 and 1-0 wins before finishing with a dud on the road to Minnesota losing 3-0.

On Sunday, in Round One against Portland, despite the Timbers holding a strong advantage in many statistical categories, the match was scoreless heading into the final ten minutes.

That changed when Portland’s Jorge Villafana scored what looked to be the match-winner in the 82′ minute. But Dallas refused to give up and 17-year-old Ricardo Pepi scored the equalizer in stoppage time in the 93′ minute.

After a scoreless extra-time, the teams went to penalties where each of the first 14 shooters were successful. This time it was Villafana coming up short and missing for Portland, allowing for Ema Twumasi to score the winner for Dallas in the eighth round.

Seattle Sounders vs FC Dallas Stats

Seattle vs Dallas Best Bet

History is not on the side of the road team in this matchup. In the past 20 MLS meetings, the home team is undefeated at 15-5-0 (WDL). The last road victory by either team saw the Sounders winning 3-2 in Dallas on April 12, 2014. You have to go back even further, all the way to May 25, 2011, to find the last time Dallas won a game in Seattle.

Outside of the head-to-head stats, overall Seattle has just been dominant at home as well. In their last 22 home matches they’ve lost just twice, winning 15 times.

Wired for the Western Conference Semifinals ⚡️

— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) November 29, 2020

And while Dallas has come out on top in two of their past three road dates, their overall road form is not strong. They won just two of ten road games during the regular season. In their final six road dates, they managed to score just one goal, which came in a 1-0 road win over Nashville. That’s five clean sheets against them in those six matches. And when you consider they didn’t score until the 93′ against Portland, they’ve basically been shut out in six of seven.

From a totals standpoint, it’s worth noting that five of those seven have seen fewer than three goals scored.

It’s December and with December comes Seattle success. This is still the team that has reached the final in three of the past four seasons, winning twice.

At home, healthy and with their star players in good form, a Seattle win has to be the way to go. They may not have finished first overall, but they did lead the league in both expected goals (41.8) and expected goals against (20.9). However, for a little better value you could also play the goalscorer market and bet Ruidiaz (-120), Morris (+125) or Lodeiro (+160) as an anytime goalscorer.

There's no one like @RaulRuidiazM in the postseason:

‣ 8️⃣ Goals
‣ 6️⃣ Assists
‣ 1️⃣ Raúl Ruidíaz pic.twitter.com/dexQ4CwE2q

— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) November 30, 2020

In seven all-time playoff games with Seattle, Ruidiaz has eight goals and six assists. He’s also scored in three of his past four games this season.

While Morris has four goals in his last five playoff games, with goals in two of his past three this season. Lodeiro has four goals in his past seven playoffs matches, to go with seven assists.

Bet365 currently looks to have the best price on a Sounders win at -150, with DraftKings listing them at -155 and FanDuel at -170.

Picks: Seattle Win (-150), Ruidiaz Anytime Scorer (-120)