Red Bulls Travel to Galaxy in This Week’s MLS Game of the Week
The top two teams in Major League Soccer will do battle this Saturday night in Carson, California, when the New York Red Bulls face the Los Angeles Galaxy. The game will be aired live on ESPN2, Saturday night at 11PM Eastern.
The Galaxy are at the top of the league standings with 15 points from 9 games, while the Red Bulls sit second overall, with 14 points from 7 games.
New York is coming off of three straight wins, outscoring their opponents by a total of 8-0. They had wins against San Jose (3-0), DC United (4-0), and Sporting Kansas City (1-0) in their last three outings. The team full of talent looks like it’s finally hit their stride this season, with Luke Rodgers and Thierry Henry leading the attack. The defense has also been playing very solid, posting three straight clean sheets.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy are coming off a 2-1 loss last week to FC Dallas, in which FC Dallas forward Brek Shea scored the winning goal in the 89th minute. It was only their second loss of the season, and their first loss in six games. Landon Donovan is leading the team with 3 goals this season, while David Beckham leads the Galaxy in assists with 4.
Galaxy striker Juan Pablo Angel will have some extra motivation in this one, as he faces his old club. Angel spent the last 4 seasons in MLS with New York, scoring 58 goals in 102 games. He hasn’t found that kind of form yet this season with the Galaxy, as he’s only scored once so far in 8 games. Saturday night would be a great way to get back on the scoring track, especially against the team he used to play for.
Even though it’s a late start for the east coast, this still will probably be one of the most watched MLS regular season games of the year. Talent galore is boasted on both sides, and even though some of the players are a little past their prime, it will still be a great match to watch.
With New York in such great form, and since they proved me wrong in my last MLS Game of the Week prediction, (I picked them to lose to DC United, and they ended up winning 4-0), I’ll predict a 2-1 Red Bulls win over the Galaxy. The Galaxy scoring has been a little sluggish of late, and that may factor into the outcome.
