Los Angeles Football Club vs. LA Galaxy | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Los Angeles Football Club vs. LA Galaxy
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 22
Banc of California Stadium — Los Angeles
July 26 - 10:30 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN, TSN2

It is Round 2 of El Trafico, with the scene shifting from StubHub Center in Carson to Banc of California Stadium, where LAFC are unbeaten in nine matches. The expansion side is, however, coming off a stunning 5-1 thumping by Minnesota United FC on Sunday.

The LA Galaxy are hitting their form in the second half of the season, unbeaten in seven straight matches, with three consecutive wins including a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.

The Galaxy won the first meeting between the two rivals, memorably coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win in regulation – one of three teams to do so in 2018.

LAFC

LAFC (10-5-5) were rolling with six straight league matches without defeat and a win over the Portland Timbers that booked their spot in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. And then came the trip to Minneapolis.

Benny Feilhaber leveled one minute after Rasmus Schuller put the Loons in front in the 25th minute. Then came a one-two punch from Christian Ramirez and Darwin Quintero just before the break, followed by second half goals by Miguel Ibarra and a second by Ramirez two minutes later.

“We were terrible in all ways,” Bob Bradley said. “We had a bad mentality about the game, we had two 90-second meltdowns, so please lets not talk about the defensive side. We were bad, the mentality was bad so in all ways we deserved to get smacked.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: D - Walker Zimmerman
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: GK - Quillan Roberts (right fibular fracture), M - Eduard Atuesta (left ankle sprain); QUESTIONABLE: M - Andrew Horta (right quad irritation)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Tyler Miller — Steven Beitashour, Walker Zimmerman, Laurent Ciman, Joao Moutinho — Mark-Anthony Kaye, Benny Feilhaber, Lee Nguyen — Carlos Vela, Adama Diomande, Latif Blessing

Notes: Since June 30, Latif Blessing and Adama Diomande each have seven goals+assists. Only Minnesota’s Darwin Quintero (10) and Atlanta’s Josef Martínez (10) have more in that time. … LAFC’s 5-1 loss last weekend snapped a six-game unbeaten run in which they had conceded a total of seven goals. LAFC is one of five MLS teams that has yet to lose a home match in league play (5W-4D).

LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy (9-7-4) bounced back from a halftime deficit to defeat the Union, 3-1, on a rainy Saturday.night in Chester for their third consecutive victory.

Ola Kamara leveled three minutes into the second half, Zlatan Ibrahimovic followed with the go-ahead goal in the 63rd minute and Michael Ciani capped the scoring in the 82nd minute as the Galaxy continue to move up the standings in the Western Conference, now two points behind third place Sporting Kansas City.

“It will be a new show and they play at home and we prepare for that game now and I think it will be a busy game,” Ibrahimovic said of the showdown vs. LAFC. “I am sure we will have some sun and we will do everything we can to win.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Romain Alessandrini
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Rolf Feltscher (shoulder surgery); QUESTIONABLE: M - Sebastian Lletget (ankle injury)

Projected Starting XI
(3-4-1-2, right to left)
GK: David Bingham — Dave Romney, Michael Ciani, Jorgen Skjelvik — Chris Pontius, Perry Kitchen, Jonathan dos Santos, Ashley Cole — Giovani dos Santos — Ola Kamara, Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Notes: Romain Alessandrini has six goals+assists in his last three matches, two of which he did not start. He had four goals+assists in his first 13 appearances of 2018. … The Galaxy are on a seven-game unbeaten streak (4W-3D) and have lost just once in their last 10 MLS matches (6W-3D). They had lost four straight prior to this run.