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The LA Galaxy make their long-awaited return to the MLS Cup Playoffs on Saturday, when they host Nashville SC in a Round One clash.
The Galaxy ended the regular season on a high, posting a 3-1 road win over the Houston Dynamo last Sunday, a rare comeback win for Greg Vanney’s side. The Galaxy finished the season in great form, four games unbeaten and losing only one of their final 11 regular season games. To say they’re playing their best soccer of the year right now would be an understatement.
But they have a formidable opponent in Nashville, who defeated LAFC 1-0 on Decision Day in Los Angeles. They also ended the season in good form, losing once in their last eight games, and also seem to have gained confidence they can make a run in the postseason this year. With likely MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar spearheading their attack, the Galaxy have to be wary of his skills as well as the “junkyard ball” abilities of the rest of the group.
The Galaxy hold the upper hand in the short all-time series between the teams, with a 1W-0L-1D record, both games this season. This is obviously the teams’ first playoff match. The winner of this game advances to face LAFC, and oh wow, wouldn’t that be something! But first things first, time to get a victory for the G’z here. Let’s do this!
Injuries/absences
LA:
- Jorge Villafaña (knee) — OUT
- Jonathan Perez (knee) — OUT
Nashville:
- None
Odds:
According to our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook, as of Friday afternoon, LA are (-135), Nashville are (+310) and a draw is (+285). The Galaxy are big favorites as the home team, which makes sense, and obviously this game will not end in a flat draw, a winner of some sort will emerge, from either 90 minutes, 120 minutes or after a penalty shootout.
How to Watch:
Saturday’s match between LA and Nashville will be televised locally on Spectrum SportsNet, nationally on Univision and TUDN and streamed for free on MLSsoccer.com and LAGalaxy.com. The TV broadcast is scheduled to start at 12 pm PT with kickoff to follow at 12:08 pm.
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