All the qualified 16 teams will play a best of three games .
At this point in the year , opponents know St . Louis ’ playbook – Bradley Carnell ’ s team wants to get in your grill , create as many scraps as possible , and force turnovers that lead to attacks going the other way .
With no secrets left in the chamber , St . Louis can ’ t afford to be anything less than excellent with their execution in high-pressing and high-stress
defensive moments . But in Game 1 at home , they were less than excellent . They struggled to win 50- 50 balls ( the very thing CITY SC ' s roster has been constructed to dominate ), which came back to bite them in a big way on multiple goals .
St . Louis let SKC flirt with the ball in dangerous spots and can ’ t allow this happens in game 2 .
RSL , with their risk-averse tactical approach , were in the mix against Houston . RSL may have to shift their approach ever so slightly . And since the Dynamo are often willing to play against the ball away from Shell Energy Stadium , Pablo Mastroeni ’ s team will have more than the 29 % possession they
held in Game 1 . When in possession , Salt Lake must find Diego Luna . The 20-year-old US youth international unlocks defenses like no other RSL player ( and few others in MLS as a whole ) can . Luna is still learning to pick his spots – a bad turnover came back to bite him on the Dynamo ’ s second goal ( Amine Bassi ' s winner ). But to create more opportunities , even if striker Cristian Arango ( hamstring ) remains out , RSL ' s attacks need to flow through Luna .
The Whitecaps allowed four (!) goals from set pieces in Game 1 at LAFC . According to Opta , Vancouver allowed the most set-piece goals ( 14 ) in the regular season , but that performance at BMO Stadium was even worse .
If Vancouver stabilize on set pieces , they have a genuine chance to get back into the game . Andrés Cubas had some brilliant moments in midfield , intercepting the ball and feeding Brian White on the ' Caps ’ first goal . White and fellow attacker Ryan Gauld will have space to run into behind LAFC ’ s center backs , just like they did over the weekend . And if it ' s Richie Laryea and Sam Adekugbe at wingback , the Canadian internationals can fly . As long as Vancouver don ’ t keep shooting themselves in the foot , the door is still cracked open .
FC Dallas have a tough road back in this series against the Seattle Sounders after dropping the first game 2 x 0 .
They had chances early on , but Jesús Ferreira couldn ’ t find the back of the net . On the other
end , Jordan Morris took advantage of a total lack of marking from Dallas center backs Sebastien Ibeagha and Nkosi Tafari . And Alan Velasco ' s knee injury is serious , with the club confirming he ' s
suffered a torn ACL .
At this point , Dallas ’ attack rides mainly on
Ferreira . But for that to matter at all at Toyota Stadium , they have to stay defensively sound . Nico Estévez ' s team shifts well in their 4-3-3 mid-block , but FC Dallas can ’ t afford to give up another simple goal like they did in the second half at Seattle .
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