LA Galaxy vs. Montreal Impact | 2017 MLS Match Preview

Sam Stejskal

LA Galaxy vs. Montreal Impact
2017 MLS Regular Season
StubHub Center – Carson, Calif.
Friday, April 7 – 10:30 pm ET
WATCH: TSN4, TSN 5, TVA Sports in Canada | MLS LIVE in the US

As the LA Galaxy lick their wounds after last weekend's loss at Vancouver dropped them to 1-3-0 on the season, the Montreal Impact head into the final game of a three-game road trip having drawn three matches in a row. Picking up another point at LA would be a solid result for the Bleu-Blanc-Noir, while anything less than a win would only ratchet up the concern for the Galaxy.

There’s already a good deal of consternation in LA. The club’s Curt Onalfo-era has gotten off to less than stellar start, punctuated by a 4-2 loss at the previously winless Whitecaps on Saturday. LA held a 2-1 halftime lead at BC Place, but a pair of soft goals and a late insurance tally for the ‘Caps doomed the Galaxy to their third defeat in four matches and left Onalfo and his players fuming.

“We gifted the second goal, and we just gave them the third,” Onalfo told reporters after Saturday’s match. “We literally just passed the ball to their player. It’s simple as that. Good teams are going to punish you when you make errors like that.”

Montreal had a different kind of disappointment on Saturday. They were tied 1-1 with Chicago for much of their match at Toyota Park, but looked like they’d stolen all three points after 18-year-old Ballou Jeav-Yves Tabla scored to give them a 2-1 lead in second-half stoppage time. The Fire hit back, however, scoring on one of the final kicks of the game to hand the Impact their third straight draw.

LA Galaxy

Getting stars Giovani dos Santos, Gyasi Zardes and Ashley Cole back from injury wasn’t enough for the Galaxy to win last weekend, but the club is hoping a return to Southern California will do the trick on Friday. The match will be the Galaxy’s first at home since March 12, when they fell 1-0 to Portland to drop to 0-2-0 at StubHub in 2017.

They’ll have close to a full complement of players available as they look to snap that home skid, with dos Santos and Cole both starting last weekend and Zardes potentially in line for his first start of the year after playing the final 23 minutes at Vancouver. They’ll be boosted by new Designated Player Romain Alessandrini, who opened his MLS account with a pair of goals at the Whitecaps last Saturday.

Suspended: None
Int’l Duty: None
Injury Report: OUT – Robbie Rogers (ankle injury); Sebastian Lletget (foot surgery 3/24, out 4-6 months)

Projected Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Clement Diop (GK) – Nathan Smith, Daniel Steres, Jelle Van Damme, Ashley Cole – Jermaine Jones, Joao Pedro – Romain Alessandrini, Giovani dos Santos, Emmanuel Boateng – Gyasi Zardes

Notes: This is just the third time in Galaxy history that they’ve opened a season with three losses in their first four games, with the two previous occasions coming in 1997 and 2012, when they went on to win MLS Cup.

Montreal Impact

Luis Solignac spoiled what would’ve been a solid road win for the Impact on Saturday, with the Fire striker pulling his team level at the death to give shorthanded Montreal a 2-2 draw at Chicago and move the Impact to 0-1-3 on the season.

While they’re still looking for their first win, Montreal shouldn’t be all that upset with their start to the year. Friday’s match will be their fourth away match in their opening five games, with their only home contest coming against the defending champion Seattle Sounders, a 2-2 draw that started the Impact’s current streak of three straight ties. Getting another point at a talented, hungry LA team would be a solid result for Montreal, who will be hoping Ignacio Piatti and Laurent Ciman will be able to return to the lineup after missing last week’s match due to injury.

Suspended: None
Int’l Duty: None
Injury Report: OUT – Andres Romero (hamstring injury); Shamit Shome (foot injury); QUESTIONABLE – Ignacio Piatti (hip/groin injury), Laurent Ciman (knee injury)

Projected Starting XI (4-3-3): Evan Bush – Chris Duvall, Victor Cabrera, Laurent Ciman, Ambroise Oyongo – Marco Donadel, Hernan Bernardello, Adrian Arregui – Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Matteo Mancosu, Dominic Oduro

Notes: Montreal have just five losses in their last 17 MLS regular season away matches (3-5-9). They had 27 losses in their previous 42 away games.