Match Preview - LA Galaxy
Game Info
Kickoff: 1:40pm CT
Watch: Apple TV
Location: Q2 Stadium - Austin, TX
All-Time H2H Record
Austin FC has a 4W-1D-5L record against LA Galaxy.
While the Galaxy were dominant in this matchup to start after winning four of the first five meetings, it’s been ATX with the upper hand of late, victorious in three of the last four games between the two clubs including a sweep in 2025.
The first of those two was a 1-0 Austin victory at Q2 Stadium in April of last season in the midst of a historical winless streak for the visitors. Despite the tame scoreline, the match finished with a bang as Brandon Vazquez missed a penalty and scored off a Žan Kolmanič cross ten minutes later before Brendan Hines-Ike was sent off in stoppage time on a controversial call by the head official. On top of that, there were antics between the two teams on the field after the final whistle, along with LA Galaxy DP winger Joseph Paintsil screaming like a child at Austin fans in the south end of the stadium as he exited the pitch.
Austin FC completed the sweep in July with their first win at Dignity Health Sports Park. It was a dominant performance despite the 2-1 scoreline as the Galaxy were the beneficiaries of a poor penalty call in second half stoppage time to break Austin’s clean sheet.
LA Galaxy Recent Form
As one of the original ten MLS teams, the LA Galaxy are the most decorated franchise in league history. The club has six MLS Cup Championships (2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2024), four Supporter’s Shield wins (1998, 2002, 2010, 2011), two U.S. Open Cup titles (2001 & 2005) and one CONCACAF Champion’s League trophy (2000).
The Galaxy are also well known for attracting big names from abroad. The designated player rule was created for their 2007 acquisition of David Beckham and they have gone on to attract talents like Robbie Keane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Reus.
After the 2024 league championship broke a decade-long trophy drought for LA, they turned around and recorded the worst season, on a points-per-game basis, in club history the following season. 2025 saw the team set an MLS record for longest winless streak to begin a season, going 16 games without one before finally recording a victory against Real Salt Lake in game 17 on May 31st (the season began on February 23rd). They were able to avoid the wooden spoon and finished on 30 points after a strong second half of the regular season (that saw them on a 50-point pace), but there was no recovering from essentially a half season of no wins to begin the year.
General manager Will Kuntz maxed out the team’s salary cap flexibility during the 2024 run to the Cup, which plunged the team into a salary cap hell that they’re still working out of in 2026. While that kind of thing is worth it to win a championship, it doesn’t make the fans happy 18 months removed from some semblance of success.
The die hard Austin FC fans will know that the most recent signing for the Verde and Black was a cap casualty of the Galaxy. After Christian Ramirez was bought out prior to the roster compliance deadline on opening weekend, he signed the following week with ATX, of course scoring the game winning goal in his Austin debut against DC United. With Ramirez, who has started each of the last two games, the Galaxy’s loss has been Austin FC’s gain.
LA also parted ways in a more conventional manner this past off season with names like Diego Fagundez, Zanka and Miguel Berry. With talisman midfielder Riqui Puig on track to return for 2026 after recovering from a torn ACL in the 2024 Western Conference Final, Kuntz did well to orchestrate a trade for former MLS Defensive Player of the Year and two-time MLS Best XI winner Jakob Glesnes from the Philadelphia Union. He also signed defender Justin Haak and winger Erik Thommy in free agency to bolster the depth on a roster that was ripe for a major rebound.
Then in the preseason, Puig tore his ACL again and was ruled out for the year. While Kuntz was able to snag DP striker Joao Klauss from St. Louis City SC on an expiring contract to fill the roster build void, the absence of Puig was an ominous sign of things to come.
The Galaxy looked strong to start the season, with a 1-1 draw against NYCFC at home followed by a 3-0 drubbing of Charlotte FC. Then they began to take on more water on the injury front. On the road against Colorado the following week, DP winger Joseph Paintsil suffered an injury early in the second half, followed by fellow DP winger Gabriel Pec being shown a red card and catching a suspension for the following week. The next game, Jakob Glesnes showed up on the injury report.
Headed into Saturday’s match at Q2 Stadium, Pec is back in action and scored a goal in the Galaxy’s 4-2 loss at Toluca in Wednesday night’s first leg of the CCC Quarterfinal. But Paintsil is reportedly targeting the second leg of that series (midweek following this weekend’s match) for his return, though head coach Greg Vanney (who is on the hot seat with fans at the moment) left the door open for a potential appearance off the bench against Austin. Glesnes is still over a week away from seeing minutes, which is good news for an Austin side that needs to see the ball hit the back of the net more at home.
Austin FC Recent Form
Speaking only for myself, this is the best I have ever felt about Austin FC as a fan after two consecutive draws. Watching LAFC rampage through Orlando City and then Cruz Azul following the scoreless draw at Q2 Stadium a few weeks back has made me feel even better about that result, given the state of the Austin FC injury report throughout the early parts of the 2026 season. And of course, like we discussed on Episode 296, the draw at Inter Miami sure felt like a win given our expectations prior to kickoff.
Despite the vibes, the reality is that Austin FC sits on just six points through their first six matches. They’ll need to start picking up some victories soon to avoid falling too far down the Western Conference table prior to the World Cup break that begins in late March. That starts with handling an LA Galaxy team who arrives on short rest with the second leg of their CCC quarterfinal with Toluca looming.
As I stressed on our midweek preview Episode 297, this game is not a must win in the context of the full season. However, the Galaxy have gone 19 straight road matches in the league without a win, dating back to Game 2 of the first round in the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs. That streak cannot end at Q2 Stadium on Saturday. Talk about bad vibes!
At Thursday’s media availability, the good vibes continued. Head coach Nico Estévez opened his presser with an injury update, which included a new timeline for Owen Wolff’s potential season debut, one that Estévez labeled as “in the conversation for the Toronto game (April 18th) or if not that maybe for the San Jose game (April 22nd).”
But an even more surprising positive tidbit came just before the Wolff discussion. Estévez revealed that Dani Pereira, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury suffered against Charlotte FC on March 7th, has been training with the group and could possibly be available against the Galaxy. If Pereira suits up in any capacity on Saturday, it would be a welcome surprise to a fanbase that hasn’t had much good news on the injury front throughout 2026.
Potentially more importantly, Estévez also confirmed that Facundo Torres has been training well after being subbed off with groin tightness at halftime against Inter Miami. If there are no setbacks in training on Friday, he’ll be available this weekend.
Saturday marks the beginning of a stretch that, depending on Austin’s potential advancement in the U.S. Open Cup, could bring 12 games in a 42 day span (a match every three-and-a-half days). With the Verde and Black presently looking up at most of the Western Conference and the schedule lightening up a bit in terms of opponent quality, winning at home is paramount between now and the summer break.
Austin FC has been no stranger to taking care of business against the Galaxy on a Saturday afternoon. This weekend’s match will mark the third straight regular season matchup between these clubs at Q2 Stadium with a midday kickoff time. They haven’t conceded a goal to the Galaxy at home since September 2023. All signs point to the home side having the upper hand on paper entering this match, now they’ve got to go out and do the job.
Injury Report
ATX:
Owen Wolff (Out - Sports Hernia)
Brandon Vazquez (Out - Knee)
MIA:
Joseph Paintsil (Out - Thigh)
Matheus Nascimento (Out - Thigh)
Jakob Glesnes (Out - Leg)
LA Galaxy Players to Watch
Marco Reus - The Borussia Dortmund legend arrived in MLS last season. At times, Reus has looked every bit of a 36-year-old player with over 30,000 minutes of tread on his tires. Occasionally, the switch flips and he looks like the player who recorded 13 seasons of double digit goal contributions in the Bundesliga. Lately, that switch has been stuck in the “on” position, as Reus scored the Galaxy’s lone goal against Minnesota United before striking again against Toluca in the second half on Wednesday. He should have fresh enough legs on Saturday after playing just 30 minutes in the midweek and with no Puig, Reus does the majority of chance creating work for LA.
Gabriel Pec - An MVP candidate during the 2024 season, Pec has struggled to find that same type of form since. Of course, a lot of the Galaxy’s issues can be boiled down to the Riqui Puig sized hole in their midfield, but that hasn’t stopped Pec from getting his shots up. The 25-year-old winger is averaging a massive 6.38 shot attempts per 90 this season. His reward for all that aggression in the final third? No goals yet in 2026. He has however scored six goals in CCC, though five of them came against Jamaican side Mount Pleasant, Pec scored LA’s opening goal against Toluca on Wednesday. He doesn’t need much to go on a massive scoring run and slowing him down will be a big job for the likes of Guilherme Biro and Joseph Rosales on the left side of the Austin FC defensive shape.
Austin FC Keys to the Game
Consistency - Something I harped on during Sunday’s episode was what comes next after the two important draws earned by Austin FC. The team, no matter the player personnel or coaching staff, has frequently played to their competition over the first five years and change of this franchise’s existence. If they play up to the level shown across the previous 180 minutes against some of the continent’s best teams, they should earn three points this weekend. But consistency has never been this club’s strong suit, save for the first two-thirds of the 2022 season, a blip on the overall timeline of Austin FC. Showing the ability to set a new bar of expectation should be a goal for the 2026 version of the Verde and Black. While that starts with this matchup against the Galaxy on Saturday, consistency isn’t just the key to this game by carrying over the momentum felt from the recent fixtures. It’s also going to be the theme of this marathon type of schedule leading up to the World Cup break. Raise the bar with your play on the field. Show some consistency in the level of performance and the results will follow.
Predictions
ZG- 2-0 Austin FC
E- 2-1 Austin FC
