The Opposition: LA Galaxy
On Sunday night, D.C. United will return to Audi Field looking to bounce back from a 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union. After a series of losses and draws, the Black-and-Red are looking to win another three points and keep pace with the top three teams in the Eastern Conference. To do that, they will have to take on one of the giants from the West. Here is everything you need to know about D.C. United’s next opponent.
Recent Matches
LA Galaxy currently sit in the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference, with 37 points in 23 matches. The team has only one draw this season (against Minnesota United in late April), while the rest of their record is split almost equally between wins and losses. In the last five games, the Galaxy have three losses and two wins. Their latest victory was an impressive 3-2 victory against LAFC in El Traffico. The game featured a hat trick for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and showcased not just an epic win over their city rivals, but over the No. 1 team in MLS.
The two games that followed that win didn’t go as well for the Galaxy. LA suffered a 4-0 loss to the Portland Timbers at Providence Park followed by a 3-0 loss to Atlanta United that featured two Galaxy own-goals. In the West, LAFC sit clearly in the No. 1 spot with 52 points. But after that, the next three teams in the standings are all tied at 38 points, and LA Galaxy sit just one point behind them at 37 points. A victory over D.C. United would not only help them get their momentum back, but it could also launch them to No. 2 in the West.
Players to Watch
The obvious attacking star for the Galaxy is Ibrahimovic. He missed the game against Atlanta United due to yellow card accumulation, but he scored five out of the team’s six goals in the month of July and leads the team overall with 16 goals on the season. No one else comes close when it comes to goals-- Daniel Steres has the next highest goal tally with three so far in 2019. Shutting down Ibrahimovic is key, but it won’t be easy-- he’s made spectacular plays against some of the strongest teams in the league.
The Galaxy defense has struggled in the last five matches, giving up ten goals. Their man between the posts is David Bingham, who is in his second season with LA. Despite their recent struggles, Bingham has seven shutouts on the season. One notable member of their backline is Giancarlo Gonzalez, who began his MLS career at Columbus Crew in 2014 before spending five years playing in Italy’s Serie A.
Head-to-Head
The LA Galaxy and D.C. United are two of the original MLS clubs. They have a storied history, including multiple meetings in the MLS Cup. Most recently, the two teams played to a 2-2 draw in 2018. LA Galaxy got two early goals, but D.C. United was able to bounce back and a late goal earned them the draw.
The match between LA Galaxy and D.C. United will kick off at 7:30 PM at Audi Field. The match has been announced as a sellout and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
