Next up for Los Angeles Galaxy is a match in Puerto Rico against Puerto Rico Islanders in the CONCACAF Champions League. Last time these two met, LA won 4-0 using their reserve team. This time, LA will be without David Beckham, Robbie Keane, Josh Saunders, Omar Gonzalez, Mike Magee and Sean Franklin. However, they will have Captain Landon Donovan and new signing Christian Wilhelmsson.
LA has been on a winning streak lately. They’ve won their last 5 matches, all of them at home. This will be their first away match since August 15th, when they traveled to Columbus to play against the Columbus Crew. Although they did win 4-0 against Puerto Rico the last time, this time might be a little more difficult for LA because they will be playing in Puerto Rico and most of the fans at the stadium will be rooting for the home team.
The way LA has been playing though, there’s no reason why they can’t win. Not only are they finally able to score goals, they’ve also been able to stop other teams from scoring against them. At the beginning of the year, they were conceding 2-3 goals (even against teams like New England Revolution). Even without Gonzalez and Franklin in the backline, they still have Dunivant and De La Garza, although it’s not a sure thing they will start. Whoever LA puts in the backline, they will have a great keeper as well. Brian Perk will most likely start and although he is a backup keeper, he has shown to be valuable to the team. My prediction for this match? 3-0 LA Galaxy.
LA Galaxy is currently on top of their group with 6 points.
CCL Group 5
Los Angeles Galaxy – 6 points
Isidro Metapan – 3 points
Puerto Rico Islanders – 0 points
(image courtesy of Robert Mora/LA Galaxy)
