OVERVIEW
After a couple of games at home the Vancouver Whitecaps return to the road as they travel to Southern California to face the Los Angeles Galaxy.? This will be their second meeting of the season as the Caps, led by a Russell Teibert brace, finally beat the Galaxy 3-1 at B.C. Place.
Prior to that match the Caps had never beaten the ?cornerstone? franchise in MLS and had not very well on the road.? In their three regular season trips to the StubHub Center the Caps hadn?t scored a goal before Darren Mattocks tallied one in their first round match of last year?s playoffs.
In this game the Whitecaps will start Brad Knighton in goal as he was a few seconds away from picking up his third clean sheet in four matches.? The two full backs on the backline will be Lee Young-Pyo and Jordan Harvey while there is a chance Andy O?Brien will be fit enough to replace Brad Rusin as Johnny Leveron?s partner in the middle.
The midfield will remain the same as Jun Marques Davidson returns as the holding mid with Gershon Koffie and Nigel Reo-Coker in front of him.? If fit Russell Teibert should get back into the starting eleven and play alongside Camilo and Kenny Miller as the trio hope to quickly reform the dangerous attack force that they were before the Gold Cup.
The Galaxy have had a tough start to the season with the retirement of David Beckham and Landon Donovan missing for the beginning of the season but the biggest loss occurred when they traded Mike Magee after ten games.? While they are one of the top scoring teams in MLS since the trade of Magee for Rogers their totals have dropped.
In their first ten games the Galaxy had scored 17 goals while after the transaction they have scored 13 times in the same number of games.? Their results when it comes to points have been the same as L.A. have picked up 13 of their 30 points after the trade.
While they are relatively healthy the defending champs are also without two of their main players due to international call ups. Their captain Landon Donovan and best defender Omar Gonzalez are both with the U.S. national team for the Gold Cup knockout rounds.
While the Whitecaps will be going into this match as underdogs they are one of the hottest teams in MLS picking up 23 out of their last 30 points.? Included in that run were two road wins against New York and D.C. United but they have yet to win one away from home in the? West.
The Caps will attempt to keep their rise trending upwards in the Western Conference with another result against a tough team.? Despite the struggles of L.A. this season they still have the champion?s mentality as the defending MLS Cup holders so the Caps must carry their momentum on the road.
KEY MATCHUPS
Attacking
Russell Teibert vs Todd Dunivant
After missing some games due to international duty Russell Teibert returns to the Whitecaps 
for the match against the Galaxy.? It was the game against L.A. in early May that Teibert broke through with his two goal performance.? Look for him to return to the right side where he will make his runs at the net as well as providing service to his teammates.? He will be going up against a player who was missing from their first matchup this season as left back Todd Dunivant has been dealing with a couple of injuries.? The 2003 first round pick is a solid defender being named to best XI of 2011 and a three time winner of the MLS Cup.? He is also a threat going forward as he able to send some good crosses and make some good runs into the box.
Defending
Lee Young-Pyo vs Robbie Rogers
Photo: Greg Roth
After a couple of average outings and an extended break due to an Eastern trip, Y.P. Lee regained the form that is expected from the world class player.? There wasn?t a player from the Fire that could break him down defensively and he got forward for a couple of chances. ?With Teibert returning from the national team the two will look to pick up where they left off in late June.? The World Cup vet will look to keep the Galaxy?s big midseason acquisition, Robbie Rogers, from getting on track.? After coming back from a short retirement Rogers has yet to establish himself as a top player that he was at Columbus before his move to England.
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