Using depth as a tactical advantage is one way the Los Angeles Football Club raced out to a lead in the Supporters’ Shield standings.

Following a three-week break from MLS competition that came at the right time for LAFC, head coach Steve Cherundolo will again have player options aplenty Saturday when the season resumes at Lumen Field in Seattle.

This is welcome news for a team, beset by injuries and challenged by a crowded schedule, that emptied its tank in May. Some rest and a couple weeks of training brought talk of a reset button and getting back to basics while focusing on building upon a league best 9-3-2 start, including a 4-2 record on the road.

Facing the Sounders (6-6-1, 19 points) for the first time in 2022, LAFC is 10 points better than their hosts, albeit with one more match. Saturday presents an opportunity for the Black & Gold to quickly regain their stride and keep an opponent at bay that has finished second place in the west five years running.

LAFC posted a win in Seattle in 2018, capping its debut match when Carlos Vela fed Diego Rossi for the game’s only goal. Saturday’s nationally televised contest on ABC will mark Vela’s 100th appearance for LAFC. The 33-year-old Mexican forward joins midfielder Latif Blessing as the only players on the roster who represented LAFC in Seattle and flew home with three points. No one else has earned a point there since April 2019 and the club has lost three straight in the state of Washington. Overall, LAFC holds a 5-3-2 edge over the two-time MLS Cup champions.

After concentrating the early part of its season on capturing the coveted CONCACAF Champions League trophy, which it did at home with an emphatic 3-0 performance against Liga MX’s Pumas on May 4, Seattle won its fourth consecutive game at Lumen Field and moved above the playoff line Tuesday by beating Vancouver 4-0.

“They’re a different team at home,” said Cherundolo, who has not played or coached in Seattle, which was named as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday. “They have a great mentality. Their performance against Vancouver was a very good one. The players looked extremely committed after the break to send a message and to show that they’re good at home, want to perform well at home and win at home. They achieved that.”

A hamstring injury will keep Sounders leading goal scorer Raul Ruidiaz off the field after the Peruvian striker’s two-goal effort against the Whitecaps gave him five on the season. Ruidiaz has missed his share of action against LAFC, playing in four of their 10 regular-season meetings, so Seattle has relied on other attackers like captain Nico Lodeiro and American national team forward Jordan Morris.

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“I don’t think it makes the game any easier for us by any means,” Cherundolo said. “They will find solutions that they have had in the past. This is an organization that is excellent at winning games no matter how they do it. They have the roster to play it in many different ways and hurt you in different ways, so I don’t think this changes a whole lot for either team.”

Los Angeles Football Club at Seattle Sounders FC

When: 12:08 p.m. Saturday

Where: Lumen Field, Seattle

TV/Radio: ABC, ESPN Deportes/710 AM, ESPN app, 980 AM