LA Galaxy Communications

LA Galaxy Starting XI

Brian Rowe; A.J. DeLaGarza, Daniel Steres, Jelle Van Damme, Robbie Rogers; Sebastian Lletget, Jeff Larentowicz, Emmanuel Boateng; Giovani dos Santos, Robbie Keane ©; Gyasi Zardes

Bench

Dan Kennedy, Leonardo, Dave Romney, Rafael Garcia, Baggio Husidic, Steven Gerrard, Mike Magee

Lineup Notes

Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena shifts his lineup Sunday as captain Robbie Keane returns to the XI following successful knee surgery, with three changes to last week’s Starting XI that faced SKC: Robbie Rogers, Jeff Larentowicz and Robbie Keane enter in place of Ashley Cole, Mike Magee and Baggio Husidic.
Goalkeeper Brian Rowe makes his ninth-straight appearance Sunday for the Galaxy. The UCLA product has been one of the best in MLS this season, going 4-1-3 with just a .90 GAA.
On the right, veteran A.J. DeLaGarza makes his fourth-straight start for LA. DeLaGarza is the most tenured Galaxy player on the roster with 185 appearances since being drafted in 2009 from Maryland.
In the center of defense, Daniel Steres continues in a starting role after joining the club from LA Galaxy II this offseason. Steres, a two-time Los Dos Defender of the Year in USL, is the only player on LA to have played in every-single minute thus far in MLS.
Alongside Steres is big, bald, Belgian centerback Jelle Van Damme, who makes his eighth start of the year for LA. Van Damme has been an anchor for the Galaxy in the back, helping the team concede just eight goals.
On the left, defender Robbie Rogers returns to the starting XI, making his first start since April 10^th. After making the move to defense full-time with a start against Chivas USA on June 8, 2014, the Galaxy have gone 27-10-15 in all MLS competitions in which Rogers appeared, including MLS Cup Playoffs and the 2014 MLS Cup Final.
In front of the backline, Jeff Larentowicz makes his first MLS start with the LA Galaxy. Larentowicz, affectionately known as Big Red, has been featured in previous weeks, making two-straight appearances since recovering from an injury. The MLS vet signed with LA this offseason from Chicago.
On the right of the midfield, midfielder Sebastian Lletget makes his eighth appearance of the year for LA. There is more to Lletget than his ability to take great selfies, as the midfielder has become of one the Galaxy’s biggest threats since joining the club from West Ham last season.
On the left side, the speedy Ghanaian Emmanuel Boateng makes his third-straight start for LA. Boateng won’t the tallest on the field, but he’ll be the fastest. On the year, Boateng has a goal and two assists for LA.
Playing underneath the striker, Giovani dos Santos will look to continue his red-hot form for the Galaxy in his fifth appearance this year. In his last three games, the Mexican international has notched four goals and added two assists.
Unstoppably handsome forward and captain Robbie Keane returns to the Galaxy lineup on Sunday, making his first appearance since March 19 against the San Jose Earthquakes. He has scored two goals in his three appearances this year.
Up top, hometown star Gyasi Zardes makes his eighth appearance of the season for LA. On the year, Zardes has scored four times and tallied two assists, including a beautiful pass to a beautiful person, Gio dos Santos, who then scored a beautiful goal last weekend against SKC.

Additional notes

Steven Gerrard returns to the 18-man roster after missing last week’s match against SKC.
Nigel de Jong, who has served his three-game suspension for a red card earned April 10, is unavailable Sunday with a knock.

Game Notes

All time, the Galaxy are 17-15-7 against the New England Revolution, and 11-5-4 in games played at home.
With a 194-116-76 record all-time, LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena is six 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 13 goals while allowing just five.
The Galaxy have been one of the most successful MLS teams at home during the last four seasons, scoring 130 total goals at StubHub Center, the most of any team.
The Galaxy’s home MLS record throughout the last four seasons is 37-5-12, with 130 goals for and just 41 against.
Since 2014, the Galaxy have only lost five of the previous 54 MLS games at StubHub Center.
In total, the Galaxy have scored an MLS-high 18 goals and allowed just eight for a +10 goal differential, the best in MLS.
LA are also tied for the MLS lead in assists (15).

Storylines

Can the Galaxy make their mothers proud Sunday
How will Robbie Keane look in his first action since knee surgery?
How will the Galaxy attack play out with the return of Keane to the lineup?
Can the Galaxy defense continue to be one of the tops in MLS?

Quick hits

Quotable:
Bruce Arena:

“They’ve been a little unlucky. They have an unusual number of draws at this time, and that tells you they’re in a lot of games. Our experience with them is they’re always hard to play against.”

Robbie Keane:

“I’m ready, of course. It’s been a good few weeks of training, a lot of fitness. But if you’re not playing, it’s different from match fitness. In terms of normal fitness I’m fine and ready to go.”

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