Major League Soccer champions Los Angeles Galaxy will be aiming to kick-start their season in Saturday’s visit to the America First Field to face off against Real Salt Lake.
Albeit to a much less disastrous extent, the home side have also made an underwhelming start to the new campaign and will be keen to pick up a much-needed win this weekend.
Match preview
© Imago
Perhaps due to the burden of added continental commitment so early in the campaign, the Los Angeles Galaxy have not been up to their usual standards and currently run the risk of being left too far behind.
Greg Vanney‘s men were beaten in each of their first four involvements this term, and after storming back from a 1-0 first-leg defeat to see off Herediano in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, they looked set to string together a decent run of results.
However, what followed was a run of back-to-back stalemates against Portland Timbers and Minnesota United before the Galaxy fell to a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat against Orlando City in their most recent domestic outing despite being in the lead up until the 76th minute.
Already six points adrift of playoff contention, LA Galaxy are bottom but two in the Western Conference standings with an incredibly wretched tally of just two points so far from a possible 18.
With one eye on their Champions Cup quarter-final second leg against Mexican outfit Tigres, Saturday’s visitors could really do with a return to winning ways to breathe some life into what has been a shambolic campaign, to say the least.
Meetings between this weekend’s opponents have often swung either way to a relatively equal measure, with the most recent 10 clashes across all competitions yielding three wins apiece and four stalemates.
© Imago
Real Salt Lake could have barely asked for a better start to proceedings than their 2-0 triumph over Seattle Sounders in March’s curtain-raiser, one of their only two victories this term.
A 3-1 defeat to MLS newcomers San Diego FC just over seven days later sent the Claret and Cobalt crashing back down to earth in a game in which they opened the scoring before conceding two second-half stoppage time goals.
Sunday’s 2-0 loss at the hands of Minnesota United saw Pablo Mastroeni‘s men beaten for the second straight game and the third time in four matches, leaving them with six points from as many matches and, consequently, 11th place in the West.
Currently with the joint second-worst offensive output in the division with five goals, as well as the joint second-worst defensive record with 11 goals conceded, Real Salt Lake have improvement to make at both ends of the pitch to stand a good chance of turning things around.
Off the back of defeats in each of their last two home matches leading up to Saturday’s affair, the hosts are staring down the barrel of three straight home defeats for the first time in over five years and will know another defeat in front of their fans would severely dampen the mood.
Team News
© Imago
First-choice goalkeeper Zac MacMath is still unfit to play any part for Real Salt Lake here with a back injury that saw him miss a huge chunk of the last campaign.
Matthew Bell will also not feature in Saturday’s affair due to a hamstring problem which has limited him to just one senior appearance for the home side to date.
Midfielder Riqui Puig still awaits his season debut for LA Galaxy as he continues to nurse a knee problem alongside Marco Reus, who also has some issues in the same part of the body.
Broken collarbones usually signal a lengthy period of absence, and Lucas Sanabria is not expected back in action anytime soon, while Mauricio Cuevas (hamstring) is also unavailable for the trip to Utah.
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
Cabral; Junqua, Glad, Ramirez, Quinton; Ojeda, Eneli; Goncalves, Luna, Marczuk; Ajago
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Aude, Yoshida, Zanka, Yamane; Lepley, Parente, Cerrillo; Pec, Ramirez, Fagundez
We say: Real Salt Lake 1-1 Los Angeles Galaxy
Neither team can head into Saturday’s matchup with confidence in their ranks as two struggling teams seek a bit of redemption.
We are anticipating a share of the spoils at the sound of the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
