Los Angeles plays host to the surprise team of the Western Conference in what is undoubtedly a must-win game. LA is currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, and a win against a conference foe would vault the Galaxy right back into the postseason picture.
"We certainly need a win, I wouldn't argue with that," said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena. "We're in the lab right now experimenting and mixing things up. We're stepping on the field Saturday with the expectation of winning."
Beating Real will be no easy task, however. RSL is currently second in the Western Conference, and have been playing some great soccer, thanks in large part to the performances of Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman. The trio have all been brought into the club under head coach Jason Kreis, as the former U.S. international and MLS sniper has turned the Utah-based club around.
Chris Klein was a former teammate of Kreis' at Salt Lake before being traded to the Galaxy, and he is one individual who isn't surprised with where RSL sits in the table.
"It's a completely different team. Jason (Kreis) has overhauled them and has done a good job of getting them to play well together," said Klein. "They've got good players at every position and they're very organized when they come out to play. They've struggled on the road a little bit, but I don't thing that's any indication of the team we're going to play on Saturday night."
While Kreis will have all of his major weapons available to him, the Galaxy are going to have to make due without several key players. Eddie Lewis and Landon Donovan (U.S.), David Beckham (England), and Ante Jazic (Canada) are all away with their respective national teams for World Cup qualifying. It leaves the Galaxy very shorthanded and looking for an offensive spark.
"If you look at our team this weekend, we lose four players in our first 11," said Arena. "That's a factor, and it is for other teams. Obviously there needs to be a reexamination of the schedule."
The absence of some key contributors on offense means that the defense is going to have to step up its game and not let Saturday's game turn into a shootout in which they are seriously outgunned.
"I think the real engine of their team is Morales in the middle," said Arena. "He's the guy that provides their service and creativity. Obviously they're very sound defensively, and going forward you have Morales and Espindola. Those are two of the guys we can key on for Saturday night, but they seem to get production from all the guys on their team."
Josh Wicks, who will be making his first MLS start in goal, is taking a much more comprehensive approach.
"I'll be keeping my eye on all ten of them. I don't want to fixate on just one person," said Wicks. "I'd rather fixate on my backline and make sure that they don't get any chances. If they get an opportunity, I hope I'm there to shut them down."
The term "must-win" gets thrown around a lot in sports, but there can be no denying that at this point in the season, the Galaxy need to turn things around immediately if they want to avoid missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season. A win against Real Salt Lake on Saturday would be a step in the right direction.
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