Steve Carrillo

PREVIEW: COLORADO RAPIDS VS LA GALAXY

It’s week two of MLS 2016 as the LA Galaxy face their first road trip of the young season.

Comerce City, Co – Saturday March 12, at 5:00pm MT (4:00 PM Pacific) at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the LA Galaxy play the Colorado Rapids live on TWCSN. The Galaxy go into the match having defeated DC United last week 4-1, whereas the Rapids lost 1-0 to San Jose.

The Rapids lead the series in home matches against the Galaxy with seventeen wins to twelve losses, and have scored forty six goals. However, the Galaxy lead the series thirtry five wins in sixty seven matches. Los Angeles is on a four match winning streak in the series. The last match was a 1-1 draw on May 2, 2015 at StubHub Center. The Referee for the match is Fotis Bazakos who has given out twenty seven yellow cards, three reds, and awarded sixteen penalities.

Colorado, like the Galaxy, turned over a significant part of the roster in the off season. They signed on a permanent contract goalkeeper Zac MacMath from the Philadelphia Union, with Clint Irwin going to Toronto FC. The Rapids also signed former Basel strriker Shkelzenn Gashi and he played on the left wing in the Quakes match. The loss was Colorado’s fourth straight opening season match loss.  Former Galaxy player Pablo Mastroeni employes a 4-2-3-1, with former Wolverhampton striker Kevin Doyle leading the line.

Los Angelse are coming off a 4-1 win in the opening match, with the Galaxy’s first goal of the season coming from Daniel Steres in his first match, on a header from a Mike Magee corner kick in the fifty fourth minute. Magee then put the Galaxy ahead for good ten minutes later. Robbie Keane and Magee finished off the scoring in the second half.  Bruce Arena gave his two newest signings their debuts in the starting line up with Nigel de Jong and Ashley Cole.

The Galaxy left the match with 2 new injuries. Goalkeeper Dan Kennedy had to be subsituted in the 20th minute with a leg injury (it’s a suspected groin injury), to which he was replaced with Brian Rowe. Gio Dos Santos came off at halftime and was replaced by top goal scorer of the match, Mike Magee.

Bruce Arena stated earlier in the week that Both Dan Kennedy and Giovani dos Santos will not be available for selection vs Colorado. Jelle Van Damme is expected to be available for selection after missing the season opener. Van Damme was injured in the LA Galaxy’s ill-fated trip to Mexico where they lost to Santos Laguna 4-0.

For the match, Bruce Arena could employ a 4-4-2: Kennedy, Cole, Van Damme (Steres), DeLaGarza, Rogers, Lletget, De Jong, Gerrard, Zardes, Magee, Keane.

Mastroeni could employ his 4-2-3-1: McMath, Hairston, Watts, Sjoberg, Miller, Azira, Cronin, Badji, Powers, Gashi, Doyle.

GAME INFO:

  • Saturday, March 12th, 2016
  • 4PM (Pacific Time) Kickoff
  • Time Warner Cable SportsNet

LA GALAXY INJURIES:

  • Giovani dos Santos (Out)
  • Dan Kennedy (Out)
  • Jelle Van Damme (Questionable)
  • Alan Gordon (Questionable)