The rivalry between Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy is generally spirited, but both teams will be tasked with generating renewed energy when they meet Sunday at Carson, Calif.
Both teams are winding down a busy stretch of the schedule with their third matches in nine days. Putting together the lineups will be carefully calculated.
“There’s going to be a balance to that,” said Real Salt Lake coach Pablo Mastroeni, a former player with the Galaxy. “A lot of it has to do with how the guys who started last week recover. Maybe I go against what I typically do. We’ll look at all the factors … and make the best decisions for the group for Sunday.”
Real Salt Lake (5-2-1, 16 points) lost 2-0 to visiting Inter Miami on Wednesday after a two-game stretch of scoring seven total goals in a pair of victories.
Real Salt Lake will look to get rookie forward Sergi Solans rolling; he has five goals this season.
The Galaxy (2-4-3, 9 points) have allowed two goals in each of their past two games in going 0-1-1 in those road outings. That included Wednesday’s 2-1 setback at the Columbus Crew.
“We have to be able to move faster, anticipate more, and be cleaner under pressure in certain situations,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said.
The teams are longtime rivals, with the Galaxy owning 22 wins, Real Salt Lake winning 18 matchups and the teams playing to 13 draws.
Last year, Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna had two goals in a five-minute stretch in a 2-0 victory. Recently, he has scored in two of the team’s last three matches.
The Galaxy will have lineup adjustments, so it’s unclear if teenager Ruben Ramos Jr. will receive his second consecutive start.
With so many matches in a short span, Vanney said that factored into decisions regarding playing time throughout the week. How some players have recovered since the mid-week game will determine lineups for Sunday.
“It’s a combination of things and choosing our lineup,” Vanney said. “Sometimes it’s not always exactly how I want to draw it up, it’s what we have.”
Joseph Paintsil could see an increased role, but Vanney is mindful that he’s coming off a hamstring injury. Injured defender Jakob Glesnes (calf), who has been out since mid-March, fits into that category as well.
“They don’t have a lot of training time because the games are also coming fast so unfortunately, we have to use the games to build up their fitness and their durability,” Vanney said.
L.A.’s Gabriel Pec will look to build off his performance in the Columbus game when he recorded his first goal of the season.
The Galaxy will be without forward Joao Klauss, who had foot surgery Friday stemming from an injury last weekend.
Real Salt Lake will play on the road for the first time in more than a month — since a March 22 draw at San Diego.
As part of the match’s festivities, a statue for former L.A. Galaxy star Cobi Jones will be unveiled outside the stadium.
–Field Level Media
