LA Galaxy Predicted Starting XI vs Real Salt Lake

Much like last season, it’s hard to find a consistent starting XI with suspensions and injuries to begin the new campaign. While it’s only week 3, we will see the third different lineup with Jelle Van Damme suspended for the Real Salt Lake match.

Goalkeeper: Brian Rowe

Well that was a bit of a shock last week, wasn’t it? Clement Diop got the start over Rowe, much to the surprise of everyone. But on the road, in a hostile environment, the experienced goalkeeper should get the nod especially with the LA Galaxy still looking for their first points of the year.

Defenders: Rafael Garcia, Daniel Steres, Nathan Smith, Dave Romney

With JVD out of this match, Smith will slide into his much more preferred center back position now that Romney returns. Smith, though, played admirably against the Portland Timbers and should be suited better in this role.

Romney is going to also provide more mobility down the left flank to better cope with the speedy wingers.

Midfield: Sebastian Lletget, Jermaine Jones, Joao Pedro, Romain Alessandrini

The one thing that is back to normal this weekend is the midfield. Jones finished his suspension and is a much better fit partnering with the Portuguese Pedro. He provides better passes to the wings and over the top of the defense, and is a brute force tracking back to help cover the back line throughout the 90 minutes.

Forwards: Jack McBean, Jose Villarreal

The second striker could easily be either Jose Villarreal or Ari Lassiter, but we are more than likely going to see pairing of former LA Galaxy II strikers. We know what McBean can do, and Villarreal does have enough MLS experience to prove that he has what it takes to score goals at this level. But Lassiter? He is the unknown between the two.