Los Angeles roll into the unfriendly confines of Buck Shaw Stadium this week for the first game of this year’s California Clasico. The Galaxy have the overall series lead, winning 9 of 14 years that the series has been in existence. However, last year’s winner of the Clasico was San Jose, winning at home 1-0 on a Chris Wondoloski goal after drawing 2-2 at HDC last year.
San Jose (5-5-4) come off a disappointing 1-0 loss against Sporting KC last Friday and despite the scoreline of last week’s game, the Quakes have found ways to score. Chris Wondoloski’s missing presence hasn’t been felt much because the team has scored 10 goals in the last 5 games in all competitions and 13 if we’re only counting MLS games, 3 more than the Galaxy have in MLS. That being said, The Quakes do have some glaring holes that may be exploited and give the Galaxy 3 points.
What to watch for –
The Man With the Long Name – Akron standout Anthony Ampaipitakwong (RM) is the leading assist man for the Quakes has a knack for sneaking into set pieces and finding uncovered space to get onto balls, not unlike former Quake Landon Donovan. Not particularly lethal at taking corners but more often than that can play great balls in deadball or open field play. Just don’t ask me to pronounce his name.
Ebony and Ivory – The combination of Simon Dawkins and Steven Lenhart have combined for 8 goals on the season and have created quite literally all the goal-scoring over the last 3 games. Unless someone else (the aforementioned Ampaipitakwong, perhaps) becomes a threat, shutting down this tandem will go a long way towards securing victory.
The Watchermen – San Jose have a bad tendency of ball watching and not man covering. A couple of goals over the last 3 games can be easily attributed to picking up a run or being better position. An example would be Cj Sapong’s game winning goal last week against the Quakes and both DC goals in the Quakes 4-2 win earlier this month. With David Beckham questionable, this might be a little bit tougher to exploit than normal. If the Galaxy can move the ball like they did against Colorado, chances should open up. The only question is who will be there to put it away.
Let the Goal Times Roll – Yes. Its almost July. Yes we’re still worrying about scoring. Even with Donovan, Juninho, and Beckham being out at varying times over the last few games, the Galaxy have found ways to score. For once, it’s been an even spilt of forwards (Lopez, Barrett, Juan Pablo Angel have all put their names on the board within the last 3 games) and midfields (Birchall, Juninho) putting the ball in the back of the net.
Predictions
Starters
SJQ – Jon Busch, Steven Beitashour, Bobby Burling, Jason Hernandez, Bobby Convey, Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Sam Cronin, Khari Stephenson, Brad Ring, Ramiro Corrales, Steven Lenhart.
LAG – Josh Saunders, A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant, Chris Birchall, Juninho, Mike Magee, Michael Stephens, Juan Pablo Angel, Miguel Lopez
Image courtesy of Robert Mora / LA Galaxy
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