Match Preview: LA Galaxy return home to face St. Louis City
Can the LA Galaxy get their first home win of the season against a fellow undefeated MLS team? A win in this fixture can keep all the momentum going for the LA Galaxy.
The LA Galaxy will host St. Louis City on Saturday night in a battle for early positioning in the Western Conference. The two sides are undefeated in MLS play and tied at seven points each.
The Galaxy is coming off a 2-2 draw in Nashville where the club was down 2-0 with 35 minutes left in the game. City is coming off a late game-tying goal to rescue a point in Austin - the game also ended 2-2.
Each side is fighting to stay near the top of the West early in the season. An important start to the MLS season is key to having a higher margin of error later in the year when the playoffs roll around (especially with the Olympics and international tournaments this summer). Here’s a look at the key stories and figures to keep an eye on during the game.
Injury Report
STL:
OUT: Josh Yaro (hamstring)
Out: Eduard Löwen (hamstring”
QUESTIONABLE: Njabulo Blom (knee)
LA:
OUT: Jalen Neal (abdominal)
The Storyline
The LA Galaxy will look to get their first home win of the season on Saturday night. If it wasn’t for a late goal by Lionel Messi two weeks ago, the Galaxy would have acquired their first win in front of the home crowd. The Galaxy still has positive momentum on their side and the home crowd could be an X-Factor.
You need to get points at home to be a good MLS team but you need to win home games to be an elite MLS team. The Galaxy has the potential to be elite with their renewed defensive improvement and productive attack.
I was on The Big 550 KTRS radio to talk about the LA Galaxy. The folks from St. Louis were intrigued about how LA is playing and the impact of Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec. People across the country know something is brewing in Carson despite the team not reaching their full potential yet.
If you want to keep the momentum going and turn more doubters into believers, the Galaxy needs to win. The home crowd can lift the LA Galaxy and give them the support they haven’t had in their last two games in the league. The club can raise their ceiling if Dignity Health Sports Park can be an established fortress during the entirety of the 2024 campaign.
Players to Watch
LA: Mark Delgado, midfielder
The MVP for the LA Galaxy through three games is Delgado. He’s the engine in the midfield, covers a ton of ground during matches, and is heavily involved in the attack when he gets forward. He can do it all and is efficient at getting the ball moving across the pitch to his teammates. His two assists this season have him tied for second place across MLS.
For Saturday’s game, I’m keeping an eye on how he covers ground and keeps possession for the LA Galaxy. City plays a pressing style that wants to create chaos - make everything disorganized so their players can win out on individual duels and cause turnovers. This is where Delgado comes in.
He needs to be the facilitator who keeps possession and limits City’s moments in transition. Delgado gets most of his touches in the middle third of the pitch, any lost ball while players push forward can lead to a dangerous counter-attack. If the visitors do win the ball back in LA’s half, Delgado will be the first player who needs to get into emergency defense mode. I’ll be keeping an eye on how he performs in these two aspects of the game.
STL: Célio Pompeu, winger
It was Pompeu who scored the 93rd-minute goal last week to give City a point last weekend. The Brazilian leads the team in goal contributions with two goals and one assist. City will feed their strikers João Klauss and Sam Adeniran - which leaves Pompeu as the club’s silent killer.
The Brazilian tends to drift to the left touchline and leads City with 18 touches in the box. Miki Yamane hasn’t had to deal with many direct wingers in his short time with the Galaxy but this could be his toughest test. Pompeu leads the team in categories such as shots on goal (5), passes into the penalty box (7), progressive carries (13), and progressive passes received (24).
The Winning Edge
Here’s an interesting stat for you:
City leads MLS with the least amount of shots on target allowed (5) through three games according to Fbref.com. The Galaxy currently averages seven shots on target on per 90 basis - the highest amount in the league.
The Galaxy is coming off playing a Nashville SC squad that implemented a back five and played in a low block for lots of the game. They have some experience with teams that are difficult to break down and did well to adjust.
The Galaxy needs to test goalkeeper Roman Burki and give the City backline headaches on Saturday night. Dejan Joveljic will try to be the first player to score in his first four games to start an MLS since Erick Torres did back in 2017. Riqui Puig will try to score in three consecutive games as he tries to establish himself as an MVP candidate.
This is a winnable game for the LA Galaxy and the club is capable of creating chances against a team that allows so few shots on target. Paintsil, Puig, Pec, and Joveljic are enough weapons to break through City and leave the game with all three points.
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