LA Galaxy Starting XI

Brian Rowe; Robbie Rogers, A.J. DeLaGarza, Daniel Steres, Ashley Cole; Baggio Husidic, Nigel de Jong ©, Jeff Larentowicz, Sebastian Lletget; Mike Magee, Giovani dos Santos

Substitutions

Dan Kennedy, Jelle Van Damme, Leonardo, Rafael Garcia, Emmanuel Boateng, Jose Villarreal, Alan Gordon.

Lineup Notes

• Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena will shift his lineup Thursday after a short turnaround from Saturday’s match in Montreal: A.J. DeLaGarza, Baggio Husidic and Jeff Larentowicz enter the starting XI in place of Jelle Van Damme, Steven Gerrard and Emmanuel Boateng. The Galaxy have yet to start the same XI players in consecutive matches this year.
• Goalkeeper Brian Rowe will make his 11^th appearance of the season Thursday night. He has made 10 starts in net, earning a 5-2-4 record with a  1.21 GAA.
• On the right side of defense, Robbie Rogers continues, making his 12^th appearance of the season. After making the move to defense full-time with a start against Chivas USA on June 8, 2014, the Galaxy have gone 28-11-17 in all MLS competitions in which Rogers has appeared, including MLS Cup Playoffs and the 2014 MLS Cup Final.
• Defender A.J. DeLaGarza is set to make his first start in nearly a month, with his last appearance coming against New England on May 8^th. DeLaGarza is the most tenured Galaxy player on the roster, with 186 appearances since 2009.
• Defender Daniel Steres continues in the Starting XI at central defense for LA. The former captain and two-time Defender of the Year for LA Galaxy II signed a first-team contract this offseason and solidified a spot in defense, appearing in every match this year.
• On the left, Englishman Ashley Cole continues his MLS Best XI season in what will be his 11^th start of the year. With Cole in the lineup, LA have gone 4-1-5.
• On the right, the calm and collected Baggio Husidic makes his 7^th start of the season. Husidic is an unsung hero for the Galaxy who has provided reliable, steady play in the midfield since signing ahead of the 2014 season.
• In the center of the pitch, Jeff Larentowicz will look to disrupt the Sporting KC attack and help the Galaxy maintain possession Thursday. After dealing with an injury to start the season, Big Red has made six appearances for the Galaxy. Thursday will mark his second start of the season and his 293^rd overall start in MLS.
• Wearing the captain’s armband, Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong starts in midfield. With eight MLS starts under his belt, De Jong have proven his worth since returning to the lineup following a suspension and injury.
• On the left, Sebastian Lletget makes his 10^th start of the year for LA. Since joining last season, the 23-year-old has scored seven goals and added five assists, including three this season.
• Up top, MLS veteran Mike Magee makes his 299^th MLS appearance. Magee has been class for LA on the year, scoring five times and adding four assists. In total, the forward now has 69 goals and 38 assists.
• Remarkably charming Mexican international Giovani dos Santos starts up top, making his 10^th start of the season. Dos Santos has scored six goals and recorded five assists in his last seven games.

Additional notes

• Steven Gerrard is set to miss Thursday’s match due to a slight knock.
• Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes are unavailable for selection with national team duty.

Game Notes

• LA have lost just once in their previous 10 matches.
• All time, the Galaxy are 24-20-12 against Sporting Kansas City, and have gone 16-5-6 in matches played at home.
• This season, the Galaxy are 4-0-2 at StubHub Center, scoring 18 goals while allowing just eight.
• The Galaxy have been one of the most successful MLS teams at home during the last four seasons, scoring 135 total goals at StubHub Center, the most of any team.
• The Galaxy’s home MLS record throughout the last four seasons is 38-5-13, with 135 goals for and just 44 against.
• Since 2014, the Galaxy have only lost five of their previous 56 MLS games at StubHub Center.
• In their most recent contest against SKC, the Galaxy earned a 1-1 draw at Children’s Mercy Park behind a goal from Giovani dos Santos.
• Thursday marks the second of three matches between LA and SKC this season, with the two sides set to square off again on Sunday, Sept. 18 in Kansas City.

Storylines

• Can the Galaxy return to winning ways at StubHub Center?
• How will the Galaxy far without Robbie Keane, Gyasi Zardes and Steven Gerrard?
• What will the Larentowicz-De Jong partnership yield?
• Can Giovani dos Santos continue to dominate?

Quick hits

• LA-SKC Preview
• TEASER – LA vs. KC
• QUIZ – How much of a 90’s Galaxy fan are you?
• Check it – Alexi Lalas made a special delivery for #GalaxyThrowback
• PHOTOS – The LA Galaxy as kids

Quotable

Brian Rowe:

• That one I’m not going to make any excuses for. I’ll put my hand up and take that one. I should have done better on it. It was nice to get back to training and kind of work it off and start looking forward.”

Robbie Rogers:

• “It is important. It is for the morale of the locker room. Because we have experienced guys I think the guys know that. It’s not that we need any more motivation, playing at home in front of our fans and to get three points, but there is an extra bit knowing there is some time before the next game. It’s important we get three points. It’s important we come out with the right mentality and energy.”

#GalaxyThrowback Night

The National Anthem singer at the first-ever LA Galaxy game will again sing on Thursday

• Blake McIver Ewing of Little Rascals and Full House fame sang the anthem at the Rose Bowl for the Galaxy’s inaugural match against New York/New Jersey MetroStars on April 13, 1996.

The LA Galaxy will wear special #GalaxyThrowback jerseys during warmups Thursday night. Fans can bid on the throwback jerseys by texting 52182.