The LA Galaxy will be traveling to Mile High, also known as Denver Colorado where they will be facing the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Saturday evening at 16:00 PST for their second meeting of the season. Both teams are only two points apart in the Western Conference where currently three points divide second from sixth place, making each and every point extremely crucial as teams kick off their playoff qualification campaigns.
The Galaxy currently have won three of their last five matches, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps two to one at Stubhub Arena last weekend, while the Colorado Rapid impressively have not lost a match in their last five.
Previous meeting summary:
The last meeting between these two in March 2013 saw the Galaxy control the match with great on pitch chemistry and more than a dozen dangerous attempts on goal. The Galaxy began their onslaught of attacks right out of the gate creating a lot of frustration for the Rapids to the point where defender Drew Moor was issued a red card for throwing his left arm back and slapping Marcelo Sarvas in the face just inside the 18 yard box.
This set up a penalty kick that Mike Magee was never going to miss, firing his shot passed keeper Clinton Irwin and celebrating with the still dazed Sarvas on the sideline. The Galaxy didn’t only dominate the final third but also locked down the midfield and kept their defense tight keeping the Rapids opportunities to a minimum.
The player of the match in my eyes had to have been Colorado Rapids keeper Clinton Irwin who found himself pelted time and time again as the Galaxy turned his goal into a shooting gallery with 21 shots, 9 of them on target.
Things to keep in mind for this match:
LA GALAXY Robert “Robbie” Keane most likely still unavailable due to injury
LA GALAXY Landon Donovan not available due to USMNT duty
LA GALAXY Omar Gonzales not available due to USMNT duty
LA GALAXY Robert “Robbie” Rogers in question due to injury
COLORADO RAPIDS Diego Calderon not available due to injury
LA GALAXY Pablo Mastroeni ex-COLORADO RAPIDS player will aid the midfield in adapting and containing the Rapids as well as exposing the gaps to push the attack forward
Probable line ups
La Galaxy: 4-4-2
Left to right
Defense: 2 Todd Dunivant; 20 AJ DeLaGarza; 21 Tommy Meyer; 5 Sean Franklin
Midfield: 8 Marcelo Sarvas; 14 Robbie Rogers; 6 Pablo Mastroeni; 16 Hector Jimenez
Forward: 29 Gyasi Zardes; 33 Jose Villareal
Colorado Rapids: 4-2-3-1
Left to right
Defense: 15 Chris Klute; 27 Shane O’Neil/33 Guzman Meira; 3 Drew Moor; 22 Marvell Wynne
Lower Midfield: 12 Hendry Thomas; 24 Nathan Sturgis
Upper Midfield: 2 Nick LaBrocca; 8 Dillon Powers; 16 Atiba Harris
Forward: 9 Edson Buddle