If your soccer blog (which you can find and read here) has been covering Major League Soccer, you have probably read about the Seattle Sounders FC, who started the season off on a fantastic note, but they are winless in three straight matches as they head into Saturday’s visit to Chivas USA. The Sounders are still third in the Western Conference, but they have to get back to what has made them so successful and that is their defense.

A good BetOnline review of the Sounders’ season so far would attribute their success to a defense that has allowed an MLS-best eight goals in their first 12 games of the season, but five of those have come in the last three matches, a 0-1 loss at home to Salt Lake, a 2-2 draw at Vancouver and then a 2-0 loss at home to Columbus. Their recent slide has coincided with injuries to first-choice goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, who is out with an ailing hip and backup Andrew Weber has a wonky wrist, leaving the duties to 22-year-old Bryan Meredith, who played well in shutout wins over Philadelphia and in Dallas, but his inexperience is starting to show and players that are working with sportsbook software know that goalkeeper is probably the position where experience counts for the most. Gspurning was supposed to be back for the Vancouver match, but he still isn’t ready, so the team may have to roll with Meredith for a little while longer.

Striker Fredy Montero is two goals short of his 100th goal for the Sounders, and he is tied with David Estrada for the team lead with four in 2012, while Eddie Johnson has added three. Three other players have scored single goals for the Sounders, but if they’re going to remain high in the Western Conference, as well as the sports betting ranks in MLS, their defense has to improve regardless of who is in goal and they have to cover for the young Meredith; even though Gspurning just came to the team this year, he is 31 and has played in his native country of Austria and Greece before coming to the United States, so he has plenty of experience.

Chivas are nine points and three spots behind the Sounders in the standings, so this is a more important match than you would think for May. You never want to fall into a rut because it can be impossible to get out of, and this begins a huge stretch for the Sounders, who will play five of their next six MLS games on the road. If they fall short during this period, Seattle will plummet down the online betting ladder.