Both teams will be hoping to remain unbeaten when Los Angeles Galaxy host St Louis City in MLS on Saturday night
Each side drew 2-2 away from home last weekend, with LA Galaxy held by Nashville SC and St Louis sharing the spoils at Austin FC.
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Indeed, LA Galaxy appeared on course to suffer their first defeat of the season at Geodis Park, when Teal Bunbury and Dru Yearwood scored within four minutes of each other in the second half. However, Riqui Puig and Dejan Joveljic both struck to rescue their side's record, moving them onto five points from three matches.
It is almost 10 years since LA Galaxy last lifted their record fifth MLS Cup, when former Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool striker Robbie Keane's winner in extra time helped them over the line against New England Revolution in December 2014.
Their decline has been stark in recent years, failing to qualify for the playoffs in five of the last seven seasons, including last time out.
As such, Greg Vanney - who made 193 league appearances for LA Galaxy across two spells during his playing career - will feel that he is under significant pressure to deliver better results. The 49-year-old has been in charge since January 2021, losing one more match (43) than he has managed to win (42) across 116 games in all competitions.
Having shown great spirit to snatch a draw from the verge of defeat in their last game, though, Vanney and his players will be confident of returning to winning ways when they host St Louis on Sunday. Should they manage to do so, the Galaxy could move top of the Western Conference table.
St Louis, of course, topped the Western Conference table at the end of the regular season in 2023. That represented a remarkable achievement by Bradley Carnell and his players in the club's first ever season as an MLS expansion team, even if they went on to suffer disappointment at the hands of Sporting Kansas City in the first round of the playoffs.
Similarly to their forthcoming opponents, St Louis came from behind on two occasions to claim a point from their trip to Austin last weekend, with Celio Pompeu equalising in the third minute of injury time. Matt Hedges and Julio Cascante had twice provided the hosts with the lead after Eduard Lowen converted a penalty four minutes after half time.
Domestically, St Louis are on course for another impressive season having gained five points from three matches, but they were narrowly eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup when losing out on away goals to Houston Dynamo in the first round. In truth, they could have few complaints as they only mustered six shots and 31% possession in the second leg.
The contrast in historical prominence could scarcely be larger given that LA Galaxy are the record MLS Cup holders and St Louis are the newest expansion team on the block, yet the visitors may well fancy moving ahead of their opponents in the table by claiming a shock victory.
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LA Galaxy are expected to remain without central defender Jalen Neal due to an ongoing abdominal issue, but otherwise Vanney appears to have a fully-fit squad at his disposal.
As such, he is unlikely to make any changes after claiming a solid point away to Nashville last time out, meaning that star forward Joseph Paintsil should continue from the right flank.
St Louis, meanwhile, will travel without Njabulo Blom (knee), Joshua Yaro (hamstring) and Rasmus Alm (hip) due to various injuries.
Joao Klauss was only used from the substitutes' bench against Austin and may expect to replace Samuel Adeniran in attack, while former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki should continue between the posts.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Yamane, Yoshida, Caceres, Aude; Delgado, Cerrillo, Puig; Paintsil, Joveljic, Fagundez
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Totland, Parker, Nilsson, Markanich; Vassilev, Durkin, Lowen, Pompeu; Klauss, Jackson
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 2-2 St Louis City
This is a fascinating contest between one of the most successful teams in MLS history and the newest club to join the division, with both teams collecting five points from their opening three matches.
LA Galaxy have massively underperformed in recent seasons whereas St Louis topped the Western Conference last time out, so we can envisage an entertaining score draw when they meet on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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