LA Galaxy found its pace over the past two games, yet the team from Health Sports Park will be heavily tested against Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday night. This is the third straight home game for Greg Vanney’s side, and they want to keep the perfect record. Meanwhile, Whitecaps have three draws in a row but are hammered to the bottom of the Western Conference with only 15 points in 16 games. Overall, they aren’t playing badly, but simply they don’t know how to win.
Preview
LA Galaxy (-195) beat Portland Timbers 4-1, and after that Real Salt Lake with 1-0. We need to say that Vanney’s team did that without its biggest star, Chicharito, who probably won’t play on Sunday as well.
The match against RSL was the first one after five consecutive without three or more goals, and only the second in the past 10 with such efficiency. Meanwhile, during the same stretch, eight of Galaxy’s contests saw both teams netting.
Vanney’s crew is third in the West with 31 points, two fewer than SKC, who tops the standings, and Seattle, who has a game more. A victory against Whitecaps would mean a lot in the race for first place and a bye in the opening round of the playoffs.
Vancouver Whitecaps (+400) didn’t lose in four straight games, but the Canadians have posted just one victory over the previous 10 games, which is why they sit at the bottom of the West. We need to say once again that Marc Dos Santos’ side isn’t playing that bad, but simply doesn’t have what it takes to close the match or deliver the final blow to its rivals.
The last three draws were against Houston Dynamo 0-0, and two with the same result, in LA vs. FC. and at home to Minnesota United, 2-2.
When looking at the efficiency, only the match against Dynamo didn’t end with three or more goals in the past 10, and two throughout that stretch weren’t with both sides netting.
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Chicarito is questionable, the same as Victor Vasquez. Both of them didn’t play against RSL.
As for the Canadians, Bruno Gaspar and Andy Rose aren’t in the mix. However, Lucas Cavallini should be in the starting lineup.
Head to Head Games
Remember that one win Vancouver had in the past 10 games? Well, that was against Galaxy in Canada, 2-1. These sides also played in June, and Galaxy posted a 1-2 victory on the road.
Prediction
This is an important match for the home team who needs to win. They have a little extra motive against the Whitecaps, who defeated them in the previous head-to-head clash and be sure that Vanney’s competitive side will emerge to the surface before this matchup. Also, he is a guy who has a history against Vancouver, as he met them often while leading Toronto FC. That is why we predict hosts’ victory in this match, with the current odds sitting at -195, which is quite enough for us. We won’t be that greedy today, but play it safe.
Pick: LA Galaxy wins
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Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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