MLS: La Galaxy vs. Atlanta United Preview, Odds, Prediction

LA Galaxy faces Atlanta United in the last game of this weekend’s MLS program. The boys from LA aren’t playing well lately, while on the other side, Atlanta doesn’t have any consistency but is still posting a bit better results than the forthcoming rivals. Galaxy is on the verge of the playoffs in the West, and three points here are very important. Meanwhile, United is outside the playoff zone in the East, yet they still have solid chances of ending up among the top seven units. 

Preview

LA Galaxy (-125) posted four losses in the last five MLS games, and we have to say that Galaxy’s defense was the main reason for that. This unit dropped from the mere top of the West all the way down to the seventh place and is now withstanding massive pressure coming from behind. 

The defense fell apart since mid-June, allowing at least two goals in each of the defeats, sometimes even more. Throughout that stretch, which was one win and five defeats, Galaxy conceded 13 goals. They have just two clean sheets in the previous 10 events. 

Things aren’t better at home, with just one triumph over the most recent five appearances. Besides that, Galaxy suffered three defeats and one draw. Four of those five contests were with both teams scoring and the same number with three or more hits.

Atlanta United (+320) has enormous problems with injured players, and for the moment, there isn’t a team in the league facing such issues. Still, five points in the previous four games are solid productivity for United in these circumstances. 

The franchise from Georgia would beat Real Salt Lake, 2-1 and after that played 1-1 with Orlando City, both events at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. So that is kind of a positive trend for this crew, who had struggled since the campaign started.

When looking only at the games on the road, we can see nothing but disappointment for United’s fans. One wins and two draws over the past ten road trips are very bad. Also, in the last seven outings, Atlanta has conceded at least two goals. 

Latest News

Jorge Villafana is out for the hosts, the only player who won’t be playing tonight. 

On the other side, the list is very, very long. Alonso, Castanheira, Gutman, Guzan, Hernandez, Hyndman, Lennon, and Robinson are all ruled out. Horror for the head coach Gonzalo Pineda. Keep in mind that the majority of these guys are starters and important players. 

Head to Head Games

These two sides hadn’t met since 2019, when Atlanta rolled over Galaxy in Georgia, 3-0. Overall, Galaxy and United have played three games so far, and Atlanta won in all without a goal conceded. 

Prediction

Galaxy won’t have a much better chance to win at home than this one. Atlanta is disastrous on the road, and has a bunch of injured players, so in our opinion, the hosts’ victory is a must here. As said, this is a unique chance for LA to snap the negative streak and start moving up the ladder. That’s it. 

Pick: LA Galaxy wins -125