It’s a week of rivalries for the Galaxy, starting Saturday against long-time foe and nemesis San Jose.
The final Cali Clasico in league play this season features a hot Galaxy (10-3-7, 37 points) team, winners of five of its last six, against the Earthquakes, who are last in the league (3-14-2, 11 points) and fired their coach Luchi Gonzalez earlier this week.
The teams will also face each other in the Leagues Cup in July.
“We’re focusing on this game first,” defender Maya Yoshida said. “They just changed the manager, this kind of situation, we shouldn’t underestimate them, anything is possible now. It’s a good opportunity for them to restart (their season), so we have to be very careful, especially the beginning of the game.”
After San Jose, the Galaxy’s attention will turn toward Thursday’s July 4 match against LAFC at the Rose Bowl and after that, a home game against Minnesota United, July 7.
First things first.
“It’s always a little bit of unpredictability coming after a (coaching) change,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “It’s too bad. Luchi (Gonzalez) is a friend and it’s too bad, but you know, it’s the game. With (assistant coach) Ian (Russell) stepping up, there’s not a ton of time to make changes, if you wanted to, but at the same time, their group is their group.
“You don’t know what the emotional bounce may or may not be, I think we really have to focus on ourselves. We’ve been in good form and good rhythm and making sure that we continue to do the things that have helped us be successful through this stretch … focus on us and whatever they decide to come out with, we’ve got to be prepared to manage that and take advantage of the opportunities that we have in the game.”
The Galaxy has won the first two meetings against San Jose and scoring hasn’t been a problem. The first game ended 3-1 (March 2) and the second was 4-3, but the Galaxy had built a 3-0 lead, before having to hold on after Eriq Zavaleta received a red card.
As of late, the Galaxy haven’t been easy to score against. They’ve recorded consecutive shutouts in wins over New York City FC (2-0) and Real Salt Lake (1-0).
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The Galaxy will welcome back Riqui Puig to the lineup after missing the last three games with a groin injury.
“He’s good,” Vanney said. “He’s trained full this week and he’ll be available for the match.”
The Galaxy survived Puig’s absence thanks to the tireless work of the midfield, with Diego Fagundez moving into the starting lineup, Edwin Cerrillo replacing Gaston Brugman, and the always steady Mark Delgado.
“He’s the most creative player in the league,” Yoshida said of Puig. “He’s just come back after a couple of weeks with a small issue, we have a long week, I don’t know how long he’ll play, but I’m sure he will add something extra for us.”
GALAXY at SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto
How to watch: Apple TV+ (season pass)