Still looking for their first victory of the season, the Los Angeles Galaxy will try to end their drought when they face Real Salt Lake on Saturday in Carson, Calif.
The Galaxy (0-12-4, 4 points) are getting painfully close to the MLS record of 18 consecutive matches without a win. The 2014 and ’15 Colorado Rapids and the 2005 and ’06 Real Salt Lake teams share the record across two seasons of play, and a loss or draw for the Galaxy on Saturday would give Los Angeles the longest single-season winless streak in league history.
“It’s hard to change the momentum of something when it’s going in the complete wrong direction, and that’s where we’re going,” Galaxy defender John Nelson said following the team’s 1-0 loss to the visiting San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday. “But the belief is still there. The effort is still there.”
Los Angeles midfielder Marco Reus left the Wednesday match with an apparent leg injury and is questionable for Saturday.
Real Salt Lake (4-9-3, 15 points) also could be missing a key figure in the midfield. Captain Emeka Eneli is questionable for Saturday after missing RSL’s match at Austin FC on Wednesday due to a foot injury.
Salt Lake’s six-match winless streak (0-3-3) almost seems modest in comparison to the Galaxy’s struggles, yet a 1-1 draw on Wednesday was another tough blow for the Utah side. RSL held the lead until three minutes into second-half stoppage time, when Austin’s Diego Rubio converted the late equalizer.
RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni nonetheless viewed the match as an overall solid performance, saying “the stuff that we’ve been working on is coming to fruition. A lot of that has to do with the individual players really making plays.”
Diego Luna leads Salt Lake with 12 goal contributions (eight goals, four assists). Reus leads the Galaxy with seven goal contributions (three goals, four assists).
Real Salt Lake earned a 2-0 win over the Galaxy in the clubs’ meeting on April 5 in Sandy, Utah. RSL are 0-4-4 in their past eight away matches against the Galaxy.
–Field Level Media
