LA GALAXY will be looking to snap a poor away record as they travel to Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake for an MLS fixture. Salt Lake have been imperious at home and should have the upper hand over the Galaxy on Sunday.
Real Salt Lake claimed a 4-3 victory at Sporting Kansas in their previous MLS fixture to maintain their lead at the top of the Western Conference. Andres Gomez netted a brace while Anderson Julio and Matty Crooks were also on target.
Pablo Mastroeni’s men have been one of the best teams in the MLS this season and their fine campaign has been driven by a solid home record. They have won their last four matches at America First Field and triumphed 5-1 over Austin in their previous home fixture.
LA Galaxy are also coming off a victory as they triumphed 2-0 over Real Salt Lake last time out in the MLS. Goals in each half from Dejan Joveljic and Diego Fagundez were enough to earn all three points.
Manager Gregg Vanney has reasons to be pleased with LA Galaxy’s campaign so far as they are third in the Western Conference, three points off the pace. However, their recent away form has been less than stellar as they are winless in their last five matches on the road.
How the bookies view it: Real inevitable at home.
Real Salt Lake are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 8/11 by Betfred. A victory for LA Galaxy is valued at 11/4 while Betfred are also offering 11/4 for a draw.
Head to head: Closely fought encounters
LA Galaxy have a 25-21 advantage with 15 draws from 61 previous matches against Real Salt Lake. However, Salt Lake have won three of the last four meetings at America First Field, while both teams played out a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture back in May.
Players to watch: No stopping Arango
Cristian Arango is the leading scorer in the MLS with 16 goals and will be the one to watch on Sunday. The striker netted a brace in the reverse fixture and is priced at 4/5 by Betfred to get on the score sheet once again.
LA Galaxy also have a prolific forward on their own with Dejan Joveljic, who has 11 MLS goals this season. The striker has been on target in the last two matches and is priced at 7/4 by Betfred to maintain his scoring run.
Probable line-ups
Top scorer Cristian Arango was a second half substitute for Real Salt Lake and should return to the starting line-up on Sunday. Fellow forward, Anderson Julio should retain his place as the point-man in attack.
LA Galaxy are still without midfielder Riqui Puig, who remains sidelined with injury. Diego Fangundez should continue in attack alongside Dejan Joveljic after both men found the net last time out.
Real Salt Lake: Beavers, Brody, Quinton, Vera, Oviedo, Ojeda, English, Barajas, Arango, Gomez, Julio
LA Galaxy: McCarthy, Aude, Yoshida, Neal, Yamane, Cerillo, Delgado, Paintsil, Fagundez, Gabriel Pec, Joveljic
Anything else catch the eye?
There were over 4.5 goals in Real Salt Lake’s last two fixtures and a similar outcome is priced at 5/2 by Betfred. The last two meetings between both teams produced over 3.5 goals which is valued at 11/10 by Betfred.
Given the minimal odds for a straight Real Salt Lake victory, a win and both teams to score could be considered 5/4 with Betfred.
This MLS match between Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy will be played on Jun 23, 2024 and kick off at 02:30. Check below for our tipsters best Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
