FRISCO, Texas – The LA Galaxy’s play hasn’t been the prettiest as of late, but the club finds itself riding a five-game unbeaten streak heading into Saturday’s road clash with current Western Conference leaders FC Dallas (5:30 p.m., Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Time Warner Cable Deportes).
The Galaxy travel to Texas as part of their eight-day road trip, which began with a scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday. Against RSL, the Galaxy once again found it difficult to kick-start an offense that has faltered since Robbie Keane went down with a groin injury, but LA believe that they have what it takes to bring down Dallas.
“We miss Robbie’s creativity and flair but we have to step up and show our qualities more than we have in the last couple of games,” midfielder Stefan Ishizaki told LAGalaxy.com. “We have to play safe and make sure they’re not off countering… we can be a little bit more direct and play more in-behind which was something that we didn’t do against Salt Lake.”
As the team looks to get their attack going, they’ll be lifted by the expected return of Juninho and Robbie Rogers back to the starting XI. Juninho was limited to a brief cameo against Salt Lake due to an illness that he says has since passed while Robbie Rogers was sidelined with a knock that occurred a week earlier against the Rapids.
According to Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena, both will likely be back in the fold come Saturday evening.
“They’re both improving,” said Arena. “We’re hopeful that both can be back.”
Having two valuable defensive pieces back in the lineup will only aid the Galaxy as they look to shut down dynamic Dallas striker Fabian Castillo. The 22-year-old Colombian forward is considered an early-season MVP favorite after tallying four goals and five assists in nine games.
Castillo has had success against the Galaxy in the past, notching the game-winner in LA’s 2-1 loss in Dallas last October.
“He’s so dangerous because he’s fast and good on the ball,” defender A.J. DeLaGarza said. "He can score goals, he can assist, he’s just a good technical player with a lot of pace who is tough to play against. We have to do it collectively as a team to shut him down.”
Added Rogers, “He’s tough to totally stop, we just have to take away things that he wants to do. If we can do that, it’ll limit his effectiveness and help us out greatly.”
In addition to dealing with a Dallas team that is unbeaten in their last three, the Galaxy may also have to cope with stormy weather for a second-straight time this week. The forecast in Frisco calls for thunderstorms, which could lead to a similar postponement like the one that delayed the kickoff of the Galaxy’s scoreless draw with RSL by 62 minutes.
“We’re going to have storms again tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a delay in the game tomorrow. But there’s nothing we can do because no one can plan for it,” Arena said. “You just hope that the players can keep the right focus, understand the timeline and get themselves ready for whenever the kick off is.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
FC DALLAS vs. LA GALAXY
TOYOTA STADIUM, Frisco, Texas
May 9, 2015 (Week 10, MLS Game #96)
8:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE)
Two of the elite teams in the Western Conference in the early going meet in an intriguing matchup as FC Dallas play host to the LA Galaxy on Saturday evening at Toyota Stadium. FC Dallas are tied atop the division and with the best overall record in MLS, their undefeated run now at three games following a 4-1 win at the Houston Dynamo last weekend. The Galaxy played to their third consecutive draw at midweek, starting their road swing with a scoreless draw at Real Salt Lake.
- Fabian Castillo continued his rich vein of form in leading FC Dallas to a 4-1 win over rivals Houston Dynamo on Friday at BBVA Compass Stadium. Castillo had a goal and added two assists; he has three goals and three assists over the last three games for FCD, playing a part in six of the club’s eight goals over their three-game undefeated run.
- The Galaxy extended their home undefeated streak to 21 league games following their 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids in Week 9. But the Galaxy have not lost at StubHub Center in their last 25 games in all competitions, their last defeat in Carson having come in the season opener a year ago.
- ·Home form ruled a season ago, with each team winning by a 2-1 scoreline in their home matches. Two games were played at StubHub Center, the Galaxy winning both, and one game at Toyota Stadium, with FC Dallas winning there.
- FCD’s win last year in Frisco was their first at home vs. the Galaxy since 2011. The Galaxy are undefeated in Carson over the last seven meetings vs. FC Dallas in league play, dating back to the start of the 2010 season, going 6-0-1 in that time.
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REFEREE: Kevin Stott. AR1 (bench): Chris Strickland; AR2 (opposite): Craig Lowry; 4th: Kevin Terry Jr. MLS Career: 264 games; FC/gm: 25.5; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 65; pens: 67
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: LA: Dan Gargan
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DAL: Atiba Harris … LA: Juninho
DISABLED LIST: LA: Brian Perk (season-ending injury)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (63 meetings): FC Dallas 21 wins (1 shootout), 84 goals …Galaxy 31 wins (1 shootout), 112 goals … Ties 11
AT DALLAS (31 meetings): FC Dallas 16 wins (0 shootout), 53 goals … Galaxy 8 wins (1 shootout), 46 goals … Ties 7
RETURN MATCHES: 8/15: FC Dallas vs. LA Galaxy, 8 p.m. CT; 9/26: LA Galaxy vs. FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m. PT
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CHECK OUT THE INJURY REPORT HEADING INTO THE MATCH
CHECK OUT THE DISCIPLINARY REPORT HEADING INTO THE MATCH
