Starting Lineup: LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes | May 22, 2016

5.22 starting xi
LA Galaxy Communications

LA Galaxy Starting XI


Brian Rowe; Robbie Rogers, Daniel Steres, Jelle Van Damme, Ashley Cole; Steven Gerrard, Nigel de Jong, Giovani dos Santos, Mike Magee; Robbie Keane ©, Gyasi Zardes


Subs


Dan Kennedy, Jeff Larentowicz, AJ DeLaGarza, Baggio Husidic, Sebastian Lletget, Emmanuel Boateng, Alan Gordon


Lineup Notes


  • Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena shifts his lineup Sunday as Nigel de Jong returns to the Starting XI for the first time since April 10. In addition, Arena makes two more changes to the starting lineup that drew 2-2 away at Philadelphia Union on May 11: Brian Rowe and Daniel Steres are set to start in place of Dan Kennedy and Leonardo.
  • The Galaxy will play a 4-4-2 with Giovani dos Santos at the top of the diamond and Nigel de Jong in a holding midfield role.
  • Goalkeeper Brian Rowe is back between the sticks for LA after Dan Kennedy earned the start against Philadelphia on May 11. In 2016, Rowe has appeared in nine games and made eight starts. Rowe has the highest save percentage in MLS (76.9%) and he holds the third lowest GAA (1.03) in the league.
  • On the right, defender Robbie Rogers remains in the starting XI, fresh off scoring in the team's previous match against Philadelphia after sublime assisting from dos Santos and Robbie Keane. After making the move to defense full-time with a start against Chivas USA on June 8, 2014, the Galaxy have gone 28-10-16 in all MLS competitions in which Rogers has appeared, including MLS Cup Playoffs and the 2014 MLS Cup Final.
  • In the center of defense, Daniel Steres returns to the starting XI. Philadelphia was the first match Steres did not start for Galaxy this season. Steres has appeared in every game for the side in 2016. He joined LA Galaxy after being signed from the club's USL side, LA Galaxy II, this offseason.
  • Joining Steres in the central defense will be the big, bald, Belgian centerback Jelle Van Damme, who makes his tenth start of the season. Van Damme is part of a defense that holds a 1.20 GAA, the third best in the Western Conference.
  • On the left, Englishman Ashley Cole makes his ninth start of the season. With Cole on the field - arguably the best left back in MLS - LA Galaxy are unbeaten in 2016.
  • In front of the backline, Nigel de Jong makes his first start since April 10 against Portland. Galaxy have been without their holding midfielder for five games; an injury kept him out for two additional games after serving a three-game suspension for a red card earned in the match with Portland. With de Jong in the lineup, no team has scored more than two goals against Galaxy. With him on the field, Galaxy hold a 0.80 GAA.
  • Steven Gerrard is set to make his second straight start for Galaxy. This time, he'll line up in the right midfielder role as part of Arena's diamond midfield for Sunday's match. Gerrard is in a stretch of quality form for Galaxy; he's scored or assisted in four of his last five games. Gerrard's MLS debut on July 17, 2015 was against San Jose Earthquakes - he scored in that match.
  • On the left side Mike Magee will get the nod to help balance out the midfield. The 2013 MLS MVP will make his 297 MLS appearance on Sunday. The long-time MLS veteran has tallied 68 goals and 38 assists in his 14 seasons in the league.
  • Playing underneath the strikers, Giovani dos Santos looks to continue his red-hot form for the Galaxy. In his last five games, dos Santos has scored five goals and tallied five assists, including a two-assist game in the team's last outing against Philadelphia. LA are unbeaten with him in the lineup. In MLS, dos Santos is T-6 in goals (5) and T-2 in assists (5). He leads the league with a 0.71 assists per game average and in scoring percentage (45.5).
  • Up front, captain Robbie Keane makes his third straight start for LA since returning from injury on May 8. King Keano, the Cali Classico killer, has scored eight total goals in matchups with San Jose (tied with Landon Donovan as series leader). Keane is tied with Toronto FC's Giovinco for the league's highest goals per game average (0.80).
  • Up top, hometown star Gyasi Zardes makes his seventh straight start for Galaxy. Zardes, the team's minute's leader, has four goals and four assists in ten games already. Sunday will be his 99th career appearance for LA Galaxy.


Game Notes


  • All time, the Galaxy are 29-20-12 against San Jose Earthquakes. They’ve scored more goals against San Jose than any other MLS franchise (98) and also have more wins against San Jose than any other MLS franchise (29).
  • With a 195-116-77 record all-time, LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena is five games away from 200 MLS wins, which would make him only the second coach to reach that milestone.
  • This season, the Galaxy are 3-0-1 at StubHub Center, scoring 17 goals (MLS leader in home goals) while allowing just seven. They are averaging 3.40 goals per game at home, a goal more than any other MLS team.
  • The Galaxy have been one of the most successful MLS teams at home during the last four seasons, scoring 134 total goals at StubHub Center, the most of any team.
  • The Galaxy’s home MLS record throughout the last four seasons is 39-5-12, with 134 goals for and just 45 against.
  • Since 2014, the Galaxy have only lost five of the previous 55 MLS games at StubHub Center.
  • In total, the Galaxy have scored an MLS-high 24 goals and allowed just 12 for a +10 goal differential, the best in MLS.
  • LA are also lead the MLS lead in assists (23).
  • The LA Galaxy lead MLS in multi-goal games (5).
  • LA are the only team in MLS to have a winning record when allowing the first goal (3-1-3).
  • LA are unbeaten in the all-white ensemble (5-0-3).


Storylines


  • Can the Galaxy continue their dominance at StubHub Center?
  • How will Nigel de Jong fair in his first game back in over a month?
  • Will Giovani dos Santos continue his stretch of brilliance?
  • How will Steven Gerrard fit in the right side role of the diamond midfield?
  • Will LA get their first win on Fox Sports 1 in 2016 (0-0-2)?
  • How foxy will Mark Rogondino look on Sunday afternoon?


Quick hits


  • LA-SJ Preview
  • Apparently San Jose fans really hate Landon Donovan or something
  • WATCH: Landon Donovan, Sebastian Lletget and Bruce Arena preview the Cali Clásico
  • LA Galaxy owe home success in Cali Clásico to "hate" of San Jose Earthquakes
  • Best playoff series ever? A look back at the epic 2012 California Clásico Western Conference Finals
  • MLS wins Sports League of the Year at 2016 Sports Business Awards


Quotable


Robbie Keane:

  • “We’re not setting the world alight,” he said. “But there are certainly signs that you can see that the team is definitely moving in the right direction.”


Mike Magee:

  • “In this league, you see a lot of pretend rivalries and ones that are made up, but to my knowledge, this one developed through games, actual fights, and play on the field,” Magee said. “It wasn’t made up by media people or anything like that. It’s got the real feel of a rivalry.” 
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