The Los Angeles Galaxy will try to pad their lead atop the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS) when they host the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park.
A 4-2 defeat to the Portland Timbers this week kept LA on 55 points, while the Caps picked up a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo to maintain their sixth-place standing.
Match preview
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Just a few days after an emotional statement victory against Los Angeles FC (4-2), the Galaxy were burned countless times by the high-octane Timbers attack.
Los Angeles conceded 12 efforts on target Wednesday while suffering a second defeat in their previous three domestic affairs.
They have won five consecutive matches played at Dignity Health Sports Park in this competition, scoring multiple goals in each encounter.
Their 55 points accumulated so far are the most for this club in a single regular season since 2014 (61), when they won their last MLS Cup.
Greg Vanney has guided this group to 16 wins in the league this year, twice as many as they had in 2023, while they are currently five points above Real Salt Lake for first in the West, though RSL have a game in hand.
This weekend, the Galaxy can win their 12th home game of the 2024 MLS campaign, which would be the most for this franchise in a single regular season since 2015 (12).
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Vancouver left it late but ultimately found a way to earn a result in midweek, stretching their unbeaten run to five matches across all competitions.
The Caps have points in four successive league fixtures, and on Wednesday, they collected their 25th point away from home in the league this year, setting a new single-season club record in the MLS era.
Vanni Sartini's men have suffered just one defeat in their previous 10 league fixtures and have points in five successive domestic affairs away from home.
Finishing in a top-four position out West is well within the realm of possibilities for this team, who are just three points behind LAFC for third, while they have two games in hand on the fifth-place Seattle Sounders and one on the Colorado Rapids, who are fourth.
If they can win two of their final six regular-season affairs, the Caps will clinch successive playoff appearances for the first time since the 2014 and 2015 MLS campaigns.
Although they have earned a result in three of their previous four competitive away games versus the Galaxy, the Whitecaps have not won an MLS match against them at Dignity Health Sports Park since 2020 (1-0).
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Team News
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In their defeat to the Timbers, the Galaxy did not have Martin Caceres at their disposal due to an Achilles injury, while Julian Aude was sidelined because of a groin strain.
Edwin Cerrillo also missed that encounter due to yellow card accumulation, but he is eligible to return for this upcoming fixture.
Gabriel Pec scored late in the opening half on Wednesday for Los Angeles, with the other Galaxy strike coming courtesy of Joseph Paintsil.
There were several new faces in the Vancouver starting 11 against the Dynamo, including Mathias Laborda, Andres Cubas, Ryan Raposo and Sebastian Berhalter.
Ranko Veselinovic made his 157th appearance for the Caps across all competitions, which is more than anyone on the current squad and even with Gershon Koffie for the fourth-most in club history during the MLS era.
Brian White returned from concussion protocol, replacing Raposo after an hour and scoring the Caps' equalising goal, while Fafa Picault collected his 16th goal contribution across all competitions this year, equalling a career-high for the Haitian from 2021.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Yamane, Cuevas, Yoshida, Nelson; Delgado, Brugman; Puig, Reus, Paintsil; Pec
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Blackmon, Veselinovic, Utvik; Vite, Cubas, Schopf, Ahmed; Picault, White, Gauld
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
The Galaxy have an embarrassment of attacking riches, which has carried them all season, and we believe that depth will propel them to another three points on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
