The Los Angeles Galaxy can close the gap between themselves and the playoff line in the Western Conference when they welcome St Louis City to Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
Last Saturday, LA extended their MLS unbeaten run to three matches with a 0-0 draw against the Houston Dynamo, while St Louis remain on top of the Western Conference table despite losing their previous encounter to Sporting Kansas City, 2-1.
Match preview
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As we hit the final stretch of the regular season, Greg Vanney and the Galaxy have made a big push to get into the playoff conversation, but you might not know it, given their position in the standings.
Los Angeles have only suffered one defeat in their last 11 league fixtures, yet they are five points behind the playoff line, with four teams to try to overtake.
They have at least one game in hand on every side in the conference and will play five of their remaining nine league fixtures at home, where the Galaxy have earned at least a point in five successive domestic affairs.
While they have been consistently earning points, this team have also left some on the table, playing to a 2-2 draw with both Sporting Kansas City and the San Jose Earthquakes in June and July respectively, despite leading at the half both times, and those four points dropped would have them within a single point of the playoffs as things stand right now.
LA have allowed the joint third-most goals in the Western Conference (39) but have been stingier defensively at home in recent outings, without a goal conceded in back-to-back league contests at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Five of their seven victories over this campaign have occurred at home, with only seven of their 19 goals scored in Carson coming in the opening half.
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A team that have defied expectations throughout their inaugural MLS campaign have become a bit of an enigma in recent weeks, with St Louis losing two of their last three league fixtures.
The consistency we saw from this expansion club at the beginning of the season has not been as evident since the start of July, as they have not won more than two successive encounters in this competition over the past two months but have also not lost consecutive games over that stretch.
That being said, it is difficult to ignore what Bradley Carnell has achieved with this group in 2023, as St Louis sit six points above Los Angeles FC for first in the Western Conference, having played one more game.
With seven matches remaining, St Louis need only eight more points to claim a postseason berth and are on pace to set a new MLS record for the most points ever gained by an expansion side, with this team currently at 47, 10 fewer than LAFC had at the end of their inaugural campaign in 2018.
Four of their remaining seven regular season encounters will be played away from home, where this group have struggled mightily over the past few months, with just two road wins since April.
Scoring goals has never been an issue for them all year, with this group netting the second-most in MLS this season (53), but they have also looked particularly vulnerable when out of possession on the road, conceding multiple strikes in seven away matches.
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Team News
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Jalen Neal missed the previous Galaxy encounter because of a sore abdomen, Douglas Costa was sidelined with a shoulder strain, Martin Caceres has an avulsion fracture on his left knee, Gaston Brugman tore a meniscus in his left knee and Chicharito is out for the season due to a torn ACL in his right knee.
Raheem Edwards will be forced out of this match with a yellow card suspension, while Eriq Zavaleta and Kelvin Leerdam are currently on international duty, representing El Salvador and Suriname respectively at the CONCACAF Nations League.
Diego Fagundez made his home debut with LA in the draw against Houston, Jonathan Perez saw the field for the first time since April 1, Chris Mavinga was in the starting 11 for the first time since July 15 and Jonathan Bond picked up his 82nd cap to move ahead of Donovan Ricketts for the third-most all-time in regular season history for this club, while he also stopped three shots for his fourth clean sheet across all competitions this year.
Nicholas Gioacchini was on the bench for St Louis versus SKC due to a shoulder injury, while Nokkvi Thorisson and Anthony Markanich featured in the starting 11 for the first time this season.
Last weekend Samuel Adeniran notched his sixth MLS goal of the year in his seventh start for the club, with Indiana Vassilev recording his fifth assist of the campaign.
Klauss missed a significant chunk of time this season through injury but has appeared off the bench in their last three encounters, while Jake Nerwinski has only featured in the starting 11 once since the conclusion of the Leagues Cup, missing their match last Saturday with a red card suspension.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Calegari, Yoshida, Mavinga, Aude; Cerrillo; Boyd, Delgado, Puig, Fagundez; Joveljic
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burkil; Nerwinski, Parker, Hiebert, Bartlett; Blom, Vassilev; Stroud, Ostrak, Alm; Adeniran
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 St Louis City
St Louis seem to be a little too comfortable with their cushion atop the Western Conference table, and the quality and chemistry that Riqui Puig and Tyler Boyd have formed lately in LA should be able to expose their opponents' defensive frailties this weekend.
How to watch
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Joel Lefevre
