CARSON, Calif. – Three points looking ahead to Tuesday’s match between the LA Galaxy and Tottenham Hotspur…
TEST YOURSELF
WATCH: Galaxy preview Tottenham match
For each Galaxy player from Robbie Keane to Jack McBean, Tuesday’s friendly offers the opportunity to test their skills against some of the finest players in the English Premier League. The experience of facing top clubs can be important for veterans and young players alike as a gauge of where they stack up among the world’s best.
And with Tottenham boasting the likes of Gareth Bale, Brad Friedel and Rafael van der Vaart, there promises to be no shortage of world-class talent on display for the Galaxy players to match themselves up with.
MINUTES FOR RESERVES AND PLAYERS IN RECOVERY
One of the most important aspects of any midseason friendly is to provide playing time for a club’s reserves and the match against Tottenham promises to be no different.
With the Galaxy having not played a reserve game since June 12th—their next one is August 7th against Chivas USA—the friendly offers reserves the chance for valuable minutes in a competitive setting beyond the training ground. For the likes of Kenney Walker, Rafael Garcia and Brian Perk, the match presents an opportunity to leave a lasting impression in the minds of the coaching staff, which could lead to more playing time in the future.
But the reserves won’t be the only beneficiary on Tuesday as players coming back from injury like Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant and Pat Noonan are also expected to participate in the friendly as they move closer to full fitness.
LIMITED MINUTES FOR THE STARTING XI
While the Tottenham match is an important proving ground for the Galaxy’s reserves, the goal for the team’s starters is to rest and recharge.
The Tottenham contest will be LA’s fourth game in the span of 11 days and with a match against FC Dallas on Saturday, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena is expected to limit minutes for his starters. This task becomes even more important with David Beckham and Landon Donovan away on MLS All-Star duty and likely to see substantial minutes against Chelsea on Wednesday.
Arena’s desire to limit minutes for his first XI does not mean that they won’t feature against Tottenham, however, as the Galaxy boss made sure that his players were aware of that fact with a bold decree after training on Monday.
“Everyone that is physically able to play for us [against Tottenham] will play.”
Read Adam Serrano’s LA Galaxy Insider blog at lagalaxy.com/insider
