LA Galaxy Host Real Salt Lake With Conference Seeding On The Line

The LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake meet for the third time this season on Saturday, this time with second place in the Western Conference on the line. Javier Morales and Fabian Espindola had a three goal outburst over the final 17 minutes for a 3-1 victory in the MLS opener March 10th. The Galaxy then went to Rio Tinto and returned the favor, getting a pair of goals from Landon Donovan on June 20th for a 3-1 win.

The Galaxy were able to go on the road and get a point in Colorado last week, extending their unbeaten run to seven matches with the 1-1 draw. However, A.J. DeLaGarza suffering a knee injury has been the bigger story, his loss outshining any positives from the match.

RSL had a big victory over Chivas on Saturday, to the tune of 0-4. Alvaro Saborio became the first MLS player this year to notch two hat tricks. Saborio scored all three goals for RSL in a match against Portland on July 7th. Saborio is now second in the MLS Golden Boot standings with 17 goals.

Also in that match, Fabian Espindola recorded his first career three assist match, and his second this year with multiple assists. Make no mistake, RSL's form has been just a step behind the Galaxy over the last few months, and will be a terribly difficult opponent on Saturday.