One of the most heated rivalries in Major League Soccer will take centre stage on Sunday as the Los Angeles Galaxy host Los Angeles FC in the first instalment of El Trafico this season at Dignity Health Sports Park.
The Galaxy are one of two MLS teams without a victory to this point of the campaign, falling 3-0 at the Houston Dynamo last Saturday, while the reigning champions are one of two sides without a defeat, earning a 3-0 triumph over Austin FC a week ago.
Match preview
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Six games into the new season and the Galaxy still have not got their act together, second from bottom in the Western Conference with a mere three points despite possessing an array of talented individuals.
As manager Greg Vanney has pointed out numerous times, this group have performed well in spurts this year, but they also tend to have lapses in concentration, and it is in those moments where they have been meant to pay.
Frustrations boiled over for the Galaxy in Houston last weekend, as they incurred a pair of needless red cards and their coach issued an apology to fans, calling the behaviour of his players disrespectful to their brand.
In their previous two games, the Galaxy put themselves behind the eight ball, trailing at the half each time, a scenario which has been detrimental to their chances of victory over the past few years, going winless when behind at the interval in every encounter since coming back to defeat Inter Miami 3-2 at the beginning of the 2021 campaign.
The creativity and movements on the ball from LA are a delight to watch, but if you are a Galaxy fan, it can add to your frustration as they have not been able to make their chances count, failing to score in half of their games this year (3/6).
To this point of the season, LA have not shown much consistency for a full 90 minutes, but over the years, they have fared well versus the Black and Gold at home, unbeaten in eight previous El Trafico matches against them at Dignity Health Sports Park, winning 2-1 in this exact fixture a year ago.
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LAFC have picked up right where they left off in 2022, as the defending MLS Cup champions look like a solid favourite to retain their title this season.
It is the second time since entering the league in 2018 that they have avoided defeat in their opening six fixtures, the last time being in 2019, when LA captured their first Supporters' Shield.
Not even the demands of the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) seem to be able to slow down Steve Cherundolo's men, who advanced to the semi-finals of that competition on Tuesday, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0, winning the tie 6-0 on aggregate.
So far, fatigue does not appear to be a factor for LAFC, who have 14 points domestically after six games while posting four successive clean sheets in all competitions.
Perhaps one of the more minute flaws one might point to for this club is their lack of quality on the road domestically thus far, without a goal in two away fixtures, while scoring multiple times in each of their home outings.
Unlike their cross-town rivals, the Galaxy, who have been heavily dependent for years on a star striker to score and be the provider, the Black and Gold have various players chipping in this season, with six different scorers and four with at least one assist.
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Team News
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Jonathan Bond remains out with a shoulder injury, meaning the Galaxy are likely to start Jonathan Klinsmann in goal once again, Martin Caceres received a second caution in Houston when he put his hands on the referee during a VAR check, as he and Douglas Costa will be suspended for this encounter, with the latter being sent off for foolishly pulling down the Dynamo's Brooklyn Raines in the final few moments of their previous match.
Their top goalscorer in the previous two regular seasons, Chicharito, made his first appearance of the year last week, taking the place of Dejan Joveljic early in the second half, while the club waived Chase Gasper on Thursday.
Goals from Chicharito and Sega Coulibaly gave the Galaxy a narrow victory the last time they faced the Black and Gold at home in this competition.
Although he did not feature in their CCL encounter on Tuesday, Christian Torres was on the bench for the first time since incurring a right leg injury, the same knock which is expected to keep Tony Leone off the field this weekend, while Maxime Crepeau remains out after breaking his leg in the MLS Cup final last season.
Last Saturday, Denis Bouanga notched his second hat trick in all competitions this season, putting him two back of Jordan Morris for the MLS Golden Boot, Eldin Jakupovic made his league debut in that victory over Austin, stopping four shots for the clean sheet, while Denil Maldonado made his first career start in Major League Soccer.
A brace from Carlos Vela and an insurance marker by Jose Cifuentes propelled them to another convincing victory over the Whitecaps this week, with first-choice keeper John McCarthy making six saves to preserve the shutout.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Klinsmann; Calegari, Zavaleta, Neal, Edwards; Brugman; Alvarez, Delgado, Puig, Boyd; Chicharito
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Hollingshead, Murillo, Chiellini, Palacios; Sanchez; Tillman, Acosta, Cifuentes; Vela, Bouanga
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 1-2 Los Angeles FC
The Galaxy became unglued last weekend, and although Vanney is an experienced coach who should be a calming presence, if things do not go their way in this one, there is no telling what they may do.
Nothing appears to be bothering LAFC right now, and even with a match played on Tuesday, they have so many weapons up and down this roster that we expect to see them to claim their first victory at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
