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The bits before the match (and there are always bits). First up, ROBBIE KEANE! Remember, when he got hurt in Ireland, their doctors declared it a serious injury and the Galaxy basically said "we'll have our guy take a look". Well the official word from there guy was left adductor strain (groin), and he must have worked the strain off this week in practice cause he's in the Starting XI.
Now in less happy news, the Galaxy are the underdogs this afternoon. That seems crazy that #1 is the underdog to #10 but remember MLS teams are notoriously worse on the road, and there's the curse of Champions League. Since Champions League added group stages, only one team participating in the tournament has made it out of the MLS Cup quarterfinals.
I will say the Galaxy's recent trip to New York might work in their favor, as well as Donovan and Keane getting a month's rest. The team is in familiar territory, with two stars well rested.
| Galaxy | New York | |||
| GK | Saunders |
GK | Rost | |
| DEF | Franklin | DEF | Mendes | |
| DEF | DeLaGarza | DEF | Keel | |
| DEF | Gonzalez | DEF | Ream | |
| DEF | Dunnivant | DEF | Miller | |
| MID | Donovan | MID | Richards | |
| MID | Beckham | MID | Tainio | |
| MID | Juninho | MID | Marquez |
|
| MID | Magee | MID | Lindpere | |
| FWD | Barrett | FWD | Rodgers | |
| FWD | Keane | FWD | Henry |
|
LA Subs: Ricketts, Hejduk, Birchall, Robinson, Stephens, Cardozo, Cristman
New York Subs: Coundoul, Auvray, Agudelo, McCarty, Ballouchy
Match Day: Quarterfinals
Game Time: 12:00 pm
TV: ESPN2