Saturday’s match marks the eighth all-time regular-season meeting between the LA and Orlando City SC, with the trailing the all-time series 3-4-0. The last meeting between the two teams, LA fell 2-0 on the road to Orlando City SC at Exploria Stadium on April 29, 2023. In three all-time matches played at Dignity Health Sports Park against the Lions, the Galaxy hold a 2-1-0 record.
"They're a good team," LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney said. "In possession they're the team that probably most expresses similar characteristics to us in the way they move, in their positional play, they have variations, they have different players who occupy different positions but their positions are pretty consistent. They have some really fluid parts in possession and some good quality players. They look comfortable on the ball, and some guys who can hurt you on the attack.
"I think they're a good team that you have to do a really good job of containing and being able to identify who's going into what positions and not get pulled apart and get drawn into situations where you expose yourself. It's going to require a lot of communication on our side to talk through some of the movements that they do, try to keep them out of positions where they can hurt us as much as we can because they're willing to run through."
The Galaxy rank fourth in Major League Soccer in possession so far this season, possessing the ball on average for 56.3 percent of the game, but converting that possession into goals is key for the team’s success.
"If we can do good things with the ball and create uncertainties for them, then I think we can establish possession in the game," Vanney said. "Things we're continuing to work on is turning possessions into real chances, turning real chances into goals. Getting the timing on some of those things right and details inside of those moments better."
LA Galaxy Form
In three matches played across all competitions dating back to March 12, the Galaxy hold an unbeaten record of 1-0-2 (7 GF, 4 GA). Christian Ramirez has scored in three consecutive matches across all competitions dating back to March 12. LA will play seven matches across all competitions (MLS Regular Season, Concacaf Champions Cup) during the month of March, with the Galaxy currently holding a record of 1-3-2 (8 GF, 10 GA) this month.
