The Los Angeles Galaxy have four matches remaining to try and climb back into a playoff position in the MLS Western Conference as they host the Colorado Rapids at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday.
LA trail Real Salt Lake by three points for the final postseason position and are winless in four consecutive games, while the Rapids are just a point behind them, having won their previous two fixtures.
Match preview
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While the playoffs are still possible in Los Angeles, this team have not done themselves any favours, winning only once in their last six outings.
There was no miracle ending for Greg Vanney and his side on Wednesday as they picked a bad time to have an off game, conceding three times in the second half, on the road against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
That was another missed opportunity for them to draw even with RSL for the final postseason position after Claret and Cobalt were beaten 3-0 by Austin FC in midweek.
Vanney has gone with a 4-1-2-1-2 formation in back-to-back encounters without much success as his players have lacked fluidity, while also being a little slow to come back and defend in transition.
Defending has been a burden on Vanney and his side since he began his tenure at this club in 2021, and that is among the many departments that the former MLS Cup winning coach has yet to fix, with LA conceding three or more goals in nine matches this year.
They come into this encounter unbeaten in their previous five fixtures at Dignity Health Sports Park, though they are winless in their last four meetings there against the Rapids.
In 2021, the Galaxy failed to win their final four matches of the regular season, which ultimately cost them a spot in the playoffs for a second successive campaign.
That is a trend they will need to reverse this time as LA have only triumphed once in their final four regular-season affairs in both 2020 and 2021.
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There is still hope in Colorado as the Rapids took full advantage of home field, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps (3-1) and San Jose Earthquakes (2-1) in successive encounters.
Before that run, this season appeared to be a write-off for Robin Fraser and his men, who went winless in six consecutive matches before defeating the Whitecaps.
The challenge for them now is to find a way to win on the road, something they have only been able to do once all year.
Under Fraser, this group have been successful over the past two campaigns because of how compact and stable they look on the back end, conceding the second-fewest goals in the Western Conference last year (35).
So far in 2022, nearly 70% of their goals conceded have come away from home (36 of 52), including 10 in their final two matches combined last month.
Colorado have scored the opening goal in only four of their 15 road fixtures this season, while failing to tally on five occasions away from home.
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Team News
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Chicharito has not scored in back-to-back games for the Galaxy, though he still leads them with 14 tallies on the year, while Dejan Joveljic, who is second on the team with 10 strikes, is without a goal in his last five matches and Victor Vazquez has a goal involvement in four successive home fixtures.
Julian Araujo leads them with four assists this season, Jonathan Bond has not picked up a clean sheet since July 24 when they beat Atlanta United 2-0 and Riqui Puig is searching for his first goal at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Sega Coulibaly and Raheem Edwards will be eligible to return from their yellow card suspensions, while Jonathan Perez and Jorge Villafana are out with knee injuries.
Diego Rubio has two goals in his last two games for the Rapids, Keegan Rosenberry notched the winner against the Quakes, his second on the year, moving into a tie for fifth on the team alongside Michael Barrios, while Max picked up his first assist of 2022 on Wednesday.
Jonathan Lewis assisted on both Colorado goals in their earlier meeting against the Galaxy this year, as he set up Rubio and Gyasi Zardes in a 2-0 win, with William Yarbrough stopping 10 shots to collect a clean sheet.
Jackson Travis has an injury to his core, while Dantouma Toure, Braian Galvan and Aboubacar Keita have right knee issues and Oliver Larraz has not healed from his injured right leg.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Edwards, Williams, Coulibaly, Araujo; Kljestan; Puig, Delgado, Vazquez; Chicharito, Grandsir
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Rosenberry, Abubakar, Wilson, Esteves; Acosta, Warner; Barrios, Rubio, Lewis; Zardes
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 1-2 Colorado Rapids
Conventional wisdom would suggest that the Galaxy should win this game given their superior quality on paper when compared to the Rapids, not to mention how poor the Burgundy Boys have been defensively on the road.
However, Colorado seem to be finding their groove and growing in confidence, which is the opposite for the Galaxy, who make it far too easy for opposing teams to penetrate their defence of a consistent basis.
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