Los Angeles Galaxy v Los Angeles FC – MLS Betting Preview and Prediction
The Los Angeles derby between LA Galaxy and LAFC is set to take place at Dignity Health Sports Park, where we will get to see the third ever “El Trafico” derby, which never fails to produce an exciting match between LA teams.
Last 3 El Traficos far from boring
The first-ever derby between two LA teams took place at the end of March 2018, when we got to see one of the most memorable and arguably one of the most entertaining MLS matches in history. The match may be far more memorable for LAFC, but for all the wrong reasons. LAFC got themselves in a 3 goal lead 48 minutes in, only to blow it in the minutes that followed. Following two goals from Lletget and Pontius, it was Ibrahimovic, who proved his worth with two more goals to seal the deal and get his team to a 4:3 win. The 2nd h2h fixture ended similarly, with LAFC once again getting themselves into a 2:0 lead in the 1st half, only to let their guard down and conceded twice in 82nd and 86th minute. Last but not least, the most recent h2h fixture in August ended in a 1:1 draw meaning LAFC is still searching for their first win against Galaxy.
LAFC eyeing the supporters’ shield
LAFC are playing phenomenal football this season. As it stands now, the team are leading the Western Conference with a 14-4-2 record and 46 points, which puts them well above their competition. The closest team to catching them are Seattle Sounders who are trailing by 11 points and by the looks of it, they will not drop down from the no.1 spot anytime soon. Not only have LAFC accumulated by far the most points 20 fixtures into the season, the Black and Gold also boast with a +36 GD, which they achieved by scoring 53 goals and conceding only 17. Furthermore, LAFC scored 14 goals in the last 3 fixtures alone, when they defeated Kansas City (1:5), Vancouver (6:1) and most recently Houston (1:3). As it seems now, the supporters’ shield might just as well be theirs as they do not seem like they will be stopping anytime soon.
LA Galaxy with a hard task at hand
While holding a respectable 3rd place in the West, LA Galaxy are miles from reaching their rivals. With an 11-1-8 record and 34 points to their name, there is a lot of room for improvement at Galaxy. Looking back at their last 5 fixtures, Galaxy won against Cincinnati (0:2) and Toronto (2:0), but lost to New England (1:2), and San Jose on two occasions (3:0) and most recently (1:3). The defeat last weekend against Earthquakes was disastrous, to say the least. Not only have Galaxy lost 1:3 at home ground, Galaxy were completely outplayed by the visiting team. San Jose Earthquakes managed to get 32 shots off, 16 of which found their way towards the net, while LA Galaxy produced barely 5 goal attempts and 1 shot on goal. This performance alone makes us doubt Galaxy have even the slightest chance to defend themselves against LAFC offense, which bear in mind, scored 14 goals in the last 3 fixtures.
Verdict & Prediction
Quite frankly, there can be only one winner here. LAFC are the superior team in the MLS and should they continue with the same rhythm, the title and the supporters’ shield is theirs. While they are understandably the favorites to walk away with a W, derby matches tend to not follow the general rules as they can go either way. Twice out of the last three times the two sides meet LAFC threw away their lead and while they look much better this season, we will steer clear of betting on them. While we can never know for sure which way El Trafico will go, we are confident it won’t fail to deliver us with plenty of exciting opportunities which should spell out plenty of goals. One per side is a given, however, with the in-form strikers of LAFC, this one can easily reach upwards to 4 goals, especially considering Galaxy tend to concede quite frequently, while also scoring a few goals of their own.
Prediction: Over 3.50 goals
Odds: 2.02 SBOBET
