Brian Schmetzer said that he and his Seattle Sounders side are navigating a learning curve following their recent struggles in front of goal.

Schmetzer watched on as his side fell to a 2-0 defeat against Real Salt Lake last time out before playing out a goalless draw in their CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16 tie with Cruz Azul.

And it was in that tournament that the Sounders notched their first wins of the season, beating Antigua 6-1 on aggregate to reach the next round of the competition.

But Schmetzer acknowledged that his side must continue to persevere in their quest for a first win of the new campaign, starting at Lumen Field against Los Angeles FC this weekend.

"It could be. If you want a dose of reality, we have won two games against a team from Guatemala, so that is in no way any disrespect, but they play in a league that is not as strong as ours," Schmetzer said.

"The learning curve for us and for me is that we have done some good work, but we have to make sure that we understand that scoring goals is challenging.

"But I don’t want to fall back into last year's start where we shot ourselves in the foot. Going up, it puts us in the driver's seat to maybe squeak out a point or even get all three."

LAFC, meanwhile, have started the season strongly, winning both of their opening two games in the Western Conference before following that up with a 3-0 win over the Columbus Crew in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

They are one of only three sides to claim maximum points at this early stage in the division, but head coach Steve Cherundolo said that his team's win over the Crew in midweek wasn't their best.

"It looked to me like the boys were a little reserved in half one," said Cherundolo. "I was very pleased with the reaction at half-time, and then around the 60th minute, with the formational change that really pushed the tempo and put the pressure on New York and eventually, they broke.

"All in all, I think it was a good night because we were able to rest some guys, spread minutes around."

Cherundolo also acknowledged that his side were not in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup just yet, despite their healthy lead in the two-legged tie.  

"We haven't beat Columbus yet," he added. "This is a two-leg series, and we need to have another stellar performance in Columbus to move on in this competition. We still have our work cut out for us."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Seattle Sounders – Jordan Morris

After scoring two goals in the Sounders' season-opener, Morris will be keen to get himself back on the scoresheet after firing a blank against Real Salt Lake.

He has four goal involvements (three goals, one assist) in 10 appearances against LAFC, but has won just two of those games against them (D3 L5).

LAFC – Ryan Hollingshead

Hollingshead scored the only goal in LAFC's win over New York City FC in the 86th minute, earning his team the victory, which has been something he has become renowned for.

Indeed, it was the fifth time in his career that he scored a match-winning goal after the 80th minute, and the American will be hoping to have another say this time around.

MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN

The Sounders ended a 10-match winless run against LAFC in all competitions with a 2-1 away win in last season's conference semi-final. They have also won four straight visits to Seattle in all competitions, the only team to do so since the Sounders made their MLS debut in 2009.

But they have conceded twice in each of their first two matches of the season as their four goals allowed equals their most through two matches of an MLS campaign (also 2017 and 2018).

LAFC, meanwhile, have opened with two consecutive wins for the fourth time in club history (2018, 2019 and 2023). No other team has collected six points through two matches four times since they joined the MLS in 2018.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Seattle Sounders – 43.7%

Draw – 26.8%

LAFC – 29.5%