Vancouver vs LA Galaxy

It's Gameday Number Thirty-One! Though the Vancouver Whitecaps (9-7-14) technically have a chance to make the MLS Cup playoffs, there's zero room for error ...

The Galaxy TAM’d him from Barcelona at the beginning of August and he’s already registered two goals and one assist while going the full 90 in four of his five matches. The Galaxy have been kind of terrible on the road this season, going 4-4-6 overall with only one win since early May. The aforementioned 5-2 thumping of Vancouver in mid-August initially appeared to be the needed salve, as the Galaxy have gone undefeated in the time since. Sounds like a season of never quite knowing how to get things right or, when taking the flip-flopping xG stats into consideration, knowing where your goals will be coming from. Though Lucas Cavallini still has two games to serve on his suspension, only Sebastian Berhalter (knee) and Deiber Caicedo (knee) were listed as Out on the league Availability Report. Expected Goals on their own don’t tell the full story, of course, but if each PK is worth 0.76 xG, that differential becomes much lower. Following a Fourth of July beatdown of Montreal, Los Angeles was arguably sitting pretty in the Western Conference standings. A return to BC Place is usually good when the Whitecaps wounds need licking, but not when it’s against a team that’s historically dominant against Vancouver. The actual last home match at BC Place against LA was …a 2-0 loss, way back in 2019. Recent performances don’t exactly make for a positive playoff outlook, as the ‘Caps are 1-1-3 in their last five and have now lost three in a row. [But good news, everyone](https://c.tenor.com/MCL_y9BGN9IAAAAC/futurama-good-news.gif)! [That’s not great, Bob](https://thumbs.gfycat.com/CloudyUniformBasil-size_restricted.gif).