Decision day in the 2023 MLS season is upon us, and the last match on the card will see Los Angeles Galaxy look to end the season on a positive note when they face Dallas at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
The hosts are down in 13th place with 36 points and cannot make the final series playoff places from here, while the visitors have it all to play for as they currently occupy one of the two playoff spots, along with San Jose.
Match preview
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The 2023 MLS season's biggest fallers, LA Galaxy, will likely be glad to close the book on what has been a wretched league campaign and take a break before preparing for a better showing next term.
After a third-placed finish with 50 points last season, the visitors have managed just 36 points in their 33 matches so far this year and will not be a part of the post-season competition.
Galaxy come into this match off the back of a 2-2 draw at this venue against Real Salt Lake last week, which extended their winless league run to a painful five matches, including three draws and two losses.
Not only did they fail to win any of those games, but they also conceded two or more goals in each of them and will almost certainly end the season with the worst defensive record across both coasts, shipping 63 goals to date.
While Greg Vanney's side may not be competing for a post-season berth, they can still have a say in the standings and will get no greater joy than denying Dallas a final series spot in this one.
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Meanwhile, after finishing fourth in the league last season, the 2023 league campaign has proven to be a much more difficult one for Dallas, who would not have expected their final series qualification hopes to come down to the last day.
Yet, that is the situation they find themselves in, and while it is not a desirable position for any side after a long season, their fate lies in their own hands, and the equation is simple - win at all costs.
As an added incentive, the Toros are still in with a chance of making a late swoop for automatic final series qualification, as they sit level on points with Portland in seventh place, who have a tricky fixture against Houston kicking off at the same time as this one.
While there are several permutations of how the final day could end for the hosts, in order to guarantee at least a playoff spot, Nico Estevez's side will need to bring an end to a run of five consecutive draws dating back to the middle of September.
Dallas won the last encounter against this opponent 3-1 back in March and are unbeaten in their last five meetings, while they have also outscored Galaxy 13-4 during that time.
Team News
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Vanney has a lengthy casualty list, but arguably, the most notable absentee will be Riqui Puig, who is out of action for the foreseeable future with an ankle injury.
Lucas Calegari (ACL), Jalen Neal (hernia), Gaston Brugman (knee), Martin Caceres (knee) and Javier Hernandez (ACL) are the other players on the treatment table, while Marco Delgado will likely not be risked due to a head injury.
Estevez has a few injury absentees to contend with for this final regular season fixture, with Tarik Scott (ACL) and Geovane Jesus (knee) both expected to remain sidelined for a while.
Facundo Quignon has been flagged as a knock, though he could still feature if passed fit, while this match may have come too soon for Sebastian Lletget, who could be ready for the final series if his side gets through.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Leerdam, Yoshida, Alfaro, Edwards; Cerrillo, Rosell, Fagundez, Costa, Boyd; Sharp
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Twumasi, Ibeagha, Burgess, Farfan; Arriola, Pomykal, Illarramendi, Velasco; Obrian, Ferreira
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 2-2 Dallas
While LA Galaxy will be glad to see the back of a dreadful league season, they will want to have one last say in the final standings and will throw everything they have into this one to give their home fans something to cheer about on the final day. Dallas cannot afford to lose here, but we feel they will have to settle for a point in this one and hope for the best in the other matches elsewhere.
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Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
