Lineups:

LA’s first XI of the Greg Vanney era is more or less as expected.

Here’s who Phil Neville rolls with for his first Inter Miami XI:

The LA Galaxy will kick off the 2021 season Sunday with a road trip, to face Inter Miami CF for the first time ever. The teams were supposed to play the week the coronavirus shutdown hit in 2020, but now they will face each other to kick off the new season.

Both teams enter with new coaches, Greg Vanney in LA, Phil Neville in Miami. Inter Miami made the playoffs last year, but in spite of that accomplishment for an expansion team there’s almost universal belief they were bad last year, something the ownership seemed to agree with. They cleaned out their front office, replaced the coach and made a bunch of changes to their roster in the offseason. They also had to dump a Designated Player this week, youngster Matias Pellegrini, because it turned out they had four for several months of last season, which is something even the Galaxy never managed to do.

Julian Araujo is suspended for this game because he was sent off in last season’s final game, while Sebastian Lletget is eligible after he was expected to be suspended by the league for using a homophobic slur on social media. But he won’t be, at least in the short term. Neither team reported any injuries pre-game.

Obviously a first-time meeting, to open a season, between two teams that have been largely remade means it’s hard to project a lot coming in. Both teams have star power, new systems and storylines galore. Can LA start the season with a result on the road? We’ll find out soon enough.

Odds:

According to our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook, as of Saturday evening, LA are (+375), Miami are (-159) and a draw is at (+320). So Inter Miami are huge favorites, which seems a bit surprising to me.

How to Watch:

Sunday’s match between LA and Inter Miami will be televised nationally on ABC and ESPN Deportes, which you can watch on FuboTV. The broadcast is scheduled to start at 12 pm PT with kickoff to follow at 12:23 pm.

Come chat about the game with us in the comment section below!

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