LAFC can secure a playoff place and leave the Galaxy nine points behind in the same evening. A win at BMO Stadium on Sunday, October 25, would deliver both, with only two regular-season games remaining afterward. El Tráfico offers LAFC a chance to settle qualification and spend the final fortnight chasing a better seed.
The Galaxy’s midfield changed during a busy MLS summer, with Sergi Roberto and Pablo Ruiz joining Marco Reus. They’ve scored at least twice in each of their last five league games. They’ll test an LAFC team still adapting to an interim coach.
LAFC enter the matchweek sixth in the Western Conference with 46 points. The Galaxy are eighth on 40, two behind Seattle despite having played one more game. The top seven advance directly to the first round; eighth and ninth must contest the wild-card game. For Greg Vanney’s side, there’s a meaningful difference between merely staying above the cutoff and avoiding that extra elimination match.
A Galaxy win would cut the gap to LAFC to three points, without guaranteeing qualification. LAFC could also clinch through Saturday’s results before Sunday’s 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) kickoff on Apple TV.
Xavi Tamarit’s first three games since replacing Marc Dos Santos have produced a win and two draws. Vancouver played most of the 1–1 draw with 10 men, Austin conceded 28 shots in a 3–1 defeat, and New York City FC held LAFC to another 1–1. Tamarit has now had a week between matches to work with the squad before his fourth game in charge.
Reus and Klauss can test Tamarit’s defense
Reus has been central to the Galaxy’s improvement. He has eight league goals and 12 assists, with nine goal contributions across his last eight appearances. João Klauss has scored four times in his last five league matches, taking his league total to nine in 14 appearances. His availability gives Reus a target who can finish crosses and attack space beyond midfield.
Against San Diego, Klauss took Roberto’s pass and carried the ball forward before scoring from outside the box. The Galaxy don’t need to build every attack through long spells of possession. A pass that releases Klauss early can turn an opposition midfield caught ahead of the ball into a chance.
Dead balls offer another route. Reus delivered the free kick that Justin Haak headed in against Portland, and he also supplied Klauss from a free kick in the win at Minnesota. LAFC conceded from corners against both Dallas and New York City. Reus’s delivery makes tracking runners and avoiding cheap fouls around the box priorities for Tamarit’s defense.
The strongest argument for LAFC remains the relationship between Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga. Son has supplied nine of Bouanga’s 17 league goals this season. Against Austin, he escaped two defenders near the byline and found Bouanga in front of goal for the opener. Their exchanges make it difficult to defend one forward without giving the other an opportunity.
Son’s 15 assists put him level with Lionel Messi at the top of the MLS list. Leo Walta adds another option from midfield: he made his first LAFC start against Austin, then scored a free kick in New York. Fouls around the penalty area would give LAFC another way to turn pressure into a goal.
The Galaxy’s problem is making their own goals hold up. They’ve collected 10 points from their last five league games, compared with LAFC’s six, yet both clubs have scored and conceded in four of those five matches.
They conceded six in the defeat at St. Louis, when Vanney rotated his team during a crowded week. They kept a clean sheet against Portland three days later, but the Galaxy twice surrendered the lead before halftime against San Diego. Scoring first hasn’t consistently given them control of a match.
LAFC already punished them in July’s 3–0 derby win, when Mark Delgado opened the scoring before Bouanga and Son followed. Delgado’s route through Los Angeles has taken him from Chivas USA to the Galaxy and now LAFC, giving this fixture a link to the city’s earlier MLS rivalry.
The all-competition series stands at 10 wins apiece and seven draws. Another LAFC victory would put the club ahead for the first time.
The Galaxy have scored 12 goals in their last five league games. They’ve conceded 12, too.
