The Los Angeles Galaxy will play three of their next four MLS encounters at Dignity Health Sports Park, beginning on Saturday when they host the Houston Dynamo.
Since exiting the Leagues Cup at the end of July, the Galaxy have won two straight domestic fixtures, edging the San Jose Earthquakes 3-2 in midweek, while Orange Crush are unbeaten in four consecutive MLS affairs after blanking the Columbus Crew 2-0.
Match preview
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LA have 10 matches remaining to try and salvage a campaign littered with inconsistencies as they sit second from the bottom in the Western Conference with 28 points.
The silver lining though would be that they, along with Inter Miami have played fewer matches than anyone in the league this season (24) with the Galaxy behind the Western Conference playoff line by five points.
Greg Vanney's men are unbeaten in their last four domestic contests played in Carson, while winning their last three matches there by a margin of 8-2.
Those victories were not against easy opponents either, as they scored twice on the joint top-defensive unit in the West regarding goals conceded (Los Angeles FC) and followed that up with three versus the third-best side in that department out East (the Philadelphia Union).
All of their remaining games this season will be against Western Conference teams who are above them in the table, and Los Angeles have only suffered one defeat in league play versus the West since early May (4-2 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps in July).
The Galaxy have not beaten the Dynamo at home in this competition in over four years since claiming a 2-1 victory at Dignity Health Sports Park in April 2019.
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Losing out to Charlotte FC on an own-goal in the round of 16 at the Leagues Cup seems to have lit a fire under the Dynamo players, who have delivered their share of blows to their opponents since then.
Houston have won four successive matches in all competitions, netting 13 times over that stretch, while also advancing into the final of the US Open Cup.
Ben Olsen's men have not only been razor-sharp in the attack lately, but they have been equally challenging to penetrate defensively, without a goal conceded in four consecutive league fixtures, shutting out the second-highest scoring team in MLS on Wednesday.
Last weekend, the Dynamo ended a three-match goalless drought away from home in this competition with three goals at Real Salt Lake, as many as this team had managed in their previous six MLS road fixtures combined.
It has been over five years since this team last played in the postseason, but they look poised to end that slide in 2023, with the Dynamo currently third in the West on 38 points, six above the playoff line.
Thanks to their victory over Columbus this week, Orange Crush have now exceeded their points total from a year ago (36), while a win on Saturday would move them up to 41 points, the most that this club will have accumulated in a single MLS campaign since 2017 (50).
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Team News
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Los Angeles will be without Julian Aude on Saturday after he picked up another yellow card this week, Jalen Neal sat out for them on Wednesday because of a sore abdomen, Martin Caceres has an avulsion fracture in his left knee, Gaston Brugman is dealing with a torn meniscus in his left knee and Chicharito remains on the sidelines due to a torn ACL in his right knee.
On Wednesday, Diego Fagundez made his first MLS appearance with LA since being traded from Austin FC for Memo Rodriguez at the beginning of August, replacing Douglas Costa after 35 minutes.
Riqui Puig has a goal in three straight matches in all competitions for the Galaxy, as he, Tyler Boyd and Dejan Joveljic all netted in their California Classico victory against the Quakes.
Erik Sviatchenko will miss this upcoming match for Houston due to yellow card accumulation, Tate Schmitt and Ifunanyachi Achara are doubtful with knee issues, while Teenage Hadebe is also unlikely to feature because of a leg injury.
Corey Baird has a goal in three successive domestic encounters as he and Ibrahim Aliyu found the back of the net versus Columbus on a night when Steve Clark made four stops, collecting his fourth consecutive clean sheet in this competition, while he leads the league in that department with 11 this year.
Clark shut out the Galaxy when these sides last met in Houston back in April, with Hector Herrera scoring the winner on that occasion and Amine Bassi netting twice in the second half to give the Dynamo a 3-0 triumph.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Calegari, Mavinga, Yoshida, Edwards; Cerrillo, Delgado; Fagundez, Puig, Boyd; Joveljic
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Dorsey, Steres, Micael, Escobar; Artur, Herrera; Carrasquilla, Bassi, Caicedo; Baird
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 1-2 Houston Dynamo
The Galaxy seem to have found their scoring touch, but they have not shown the ability to keep the ball out of their own net consistently all year, and that is a significant concern when facing a side in Houston who are starting to make their opportunities count.
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