The Los Angeles Galaxy beat the Seattle Sounders in both regular-season meetings early in the year, by a combined score of 7-1, but the Sounders like their chances at home on Halloween in the first leg of the quarterfinal matchup.

"I wanted L.A. from the beginning," said midfielder Steve Zakuani. "Of course it's going to be very tough, they beat us twice in the regular season, but I think we owe them one and we're ready."

Both previous games were played during the first half of the season, when the Galaxy seemed unbeatable and injury-riddled Seattle struggled with consistency. Los Angeles had the league's best record in the first half of the season (11-1-3), Seattle boasted the best mark for the second half (10-2-3).

"I think for us the motivation is definitely there; we want to do better than we did last year," said coach Sigi Schmid, referencing a first-round playoff exit in 2009. "We got a chance to go up against the Supporters' Shield winner and if you want to win a championship, you are going to have to beat a team like that eventually."