LA Galaxy Communications

LA Galaxy Starting XI

Brian Rowe; A.J. DeLaGarza, Daniel Steres, Jelle Van Damme, Ashley Cole; Sebastian Lletget, Mike Magee, Baggio Husidic, Emmanuel Boateng; Giovani dos Santos, Gyasi Zardes

Subs

Dan Kennedy, Robbie Rogers, Leonardo, Rafael Garcia, Jeff Larentowicz, Bradford Jamieson IV, Jose Villarreal.

Lineup Notes

Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena will make one change to the starting XI from last weekend’s 5-2 win over Salt Lake as midfielder Sebastian Lletget returns to the Starting XI while Steven Gerrard sits with a groin injury.
Goalkeeper Brian Rowe is set to make his eighth-straight appearance for the Galaxy, which will be the highest number of games the UCLA product has appeared in during a season. Rowe has allowed just six goals in his seven previous appearances.
On the right in defense, steady and versatile defender A.J. DeLaGarza will make his third-straight start. The Maryland alumnus, who looked nearly identical to Dora the Explorer as a child, is currently the Galaxy’s most tenured player on the roster, making 184 appearances since he was drafted in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft.
In the center of defense, Daniel Steres, the only Galaxy player to start in each MLS match and play every minute this season, is set for his eighth-straight start in the back. Steres was previously with LA Galaxy II in USL for two years, winning LA Galaxy II Defender of the Year in consecutive seasons.
Alongside Steres will be Jelle Van Damme, who has been excellent in defense since joining the Galaxy this offseason. Sporting a classic John Strong look, Van Damme has helped the Galaxy go 3-1-2 in his six games played thus far.
On the left, English defender Ashley Cole gets his seventh start in MLS. The defender has played in MLS Best XI form to start the season. He has yet to visit the beach.
In midfield, speedy winger and POTW winner Emmanuel Boateng makes just his third start of the year. In his last match, Boateng notched a goal and two assists in what was his second-ever start in MLS.
In the center of the pitch, midfielder and full-time herbivore Baggio Husidic earns his fourth-straight start. Husidic has been an unheralded presence in the Galaxy lineup over the past three seasons, making 65 appearances while scoring eight goals and adding nine assists.
Alongside Husidic in the center of the pitch, the versatile Mike Magee will start. The former MLS MVP has been a stud for the Galaxy since returning this offseason, scoring three goals and adding three assists in just seven appearances.
Out wide, ‘Da Boy Sebastian Lletget returns to the lineup after missing last week with a minor knock. Lletget has picked up seven goals and an additional four assists since joining the Galaxy mid-way through last season.
Up top, Mexican international Giovani dos Santos makes his third-straight start since returning from an injury suffered in the opening match of the season. Dos Santos has recorded three goals and two assists in his last two games, including a dandy fade away chip over Nick Rimando. Rumor is that he shouted “Kobe” just before he shot it.
LA Galaxy Homegrown Player Gyasi Zardes heads up the Galaxy attack Sunday in KC. Zardes has been a consistent threat this season up top, scoring four times and adding an assist.

Game Notes

All time, the Galaxy are 24-20-11 against Sporting Kansas City, including 8-15-5 in road games.
This season on the road, the Galaxy are 1-1-1, scoring four goals and allowing just two.
]In total, the Galaxy have scored an MLS-high 17 goals and allowed just seven for a +10 goal differential, the best in MLS.
LA also lead MLS in assists (14).
They are averaging 2.43 goals per game (a half goal more than any MLS team) and have scored nine goals in their last two games.
Through Week 8, LA’s eight individual goal scorers are tied for the most in MLS (tied with RSL): Daniel Steres (1), Mike Magee (3), Robbie Keane (2), Gyasi Zardes (4), Giovani dos Santos (3), Baggio Husidic (1), Steven Gerrard (1) and Emmanuel Boateng (1) have all scored for the Galaxy this season.
In their most recent meeting, the Galaxy fell to Kansas City 2-1 last October in the final contest of the regular season.
Sunday will mark the first of three contests this year, with the two sides set to square off again on June 2 and September 18.

Quick hits

Quotable

Brian Rowe:

I think everyone is sort of getting the feel for each other’s strengths. I think we’re really starting to jell right now. We’re moving the ball well, we’re breaking teams down, we’re showing a good dynamic going forward as well.”

Gyasi Zardes:

“If all of our players are healthy, we’ll have an amazing team that could go very far. The depth in this roster is crazy. We have players that can start that are in the reserves. It’s crazy.”

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