LAFC vs LA Galaxy Preview, Betting Odds, and Prop Bet Pick

There are three reasons why we decided to do an LAFC vs LA Galaxy preview. The first one is that this is a Los Angeles derby, one of the biggest rivalries in the MLS. The second reason is that both of these teams are hoping for a high table finish. The final reason is that these two Californian soccer teams love scoring a lot of goals.

• When: Saturday, July 18
• Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World, Orlando (no spectators)
• Previous Meeting: 5-3 LAFC (October 25, 2019)
• Absentees: Carlos Vela (LAFC), Jonathan Dos Santos (LAG), Danilo Acosta (LAG)

Los Angeles FC is coming into this game after a 3-3 draw in the first round of the MLS is Back tournament, in which they played against Houston Dynamo. Los Angeles Galaxy lost to Portland Timbers 2-1 in the first game, meaning that this team is now eager to get back on the right track with a win against their city-rival.

LAFC vs LA Galaxy Betting Odds

LAFC vs LA Galaxy Preview

According to Transfermarkt, there’s only one team that has a market value higher than Los Angeles FC. The team in question is Atlanta United. The difference in value between the two, however, is not too big. In fact, you can say that the two clubs are practically worth the same.

Behind LAFC is David Beckham’s Inter Miami, followed by the other Los Angeles team. Los Angeles Galaxy is the fourth most expensive team in the MLS. Even though the team is only two places behind LAFC in the rich list, the fact is that Galaxy’s market value is almost two times lower than of its city-rival.

MLS Top Goalscorer to Miss Out on the Tournament

The reason why LAFC is such a valuable club is that it has some really great players in the squad. Unfortunately for LAFC fans, their most expensive player, Carlos Vela is going to miss the MLS is Back tournament. Vela has decided not to travel to Florida, citing his girlfriend’s “risky pregnancy” as the main reason.

The good news for Los Angeles FC fans is that apart from Vela, everyone else is fit. This includes LAFC’s talented winger, Diego Rossi, who was the team’s second-highest scorer last season.

Chicharito Super-Motivated to Score

It’s a similar situation with Los Angeles Galaxy, where only two players are going to be missed. This team’s two most expensive players, Cristian Pavon and Chicharito, are fit and very motivated to do well on Saturday.

Why? It’s not just because these two are the key players of Galaxy, but also because they probably feel they could’ve done better in their team’s defeat to Portland Timbers in the previous round.

In that game, Chicharito missed a penalty, while they also had a goal disallowed due to an offside. What hurts them the most is the fact that Timbers played with ten players for more than 20 minutes after Dario Zuparic got a red card in 75’.

FatCatBet Prediction

After looking at all sorts of stats, as we do always with our soccer handicapping strategy, we’ve decided that predicting the outcome of this game is too difficult. Each of the three outcomes seems very plausible. What doesn’t seem plausible is a low-scoring game. Instead, we expect the LAFC vs LA Galaxy game to see many, many goals.

As you’ve probably figured out from this LAFC vs LA Galaxy preview, these two teams are super-powerful in the final third. Last season, Los Angeles FC scored 85 goals, more than any other MLS team. Los Angeles Galaxy scored 58 in the group stage of the 2019 MLS season. Still, most of those goals were scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (30 goals) who currently plays for AC Milan.

One last thing we need to mention before wrapping up this LAFC vs LA Galaxy preview is that we say both teams scoring in every single Los Angeles derby. In the previous three meetings between the two, we witnessed a total of 19 goals, which is over 6 per game on average. FatCatBet expects something similar to happen this weekend.

FatCatBet picks for LAFC vs LA Galaxy:

• Both Teams To Score
• Over 2.5 Goals  

LAFC vs LA Galaxy Prop Bet Suggestion

Without Carlos Vela in the team, Los Angeles FC is relying on their second most prolific goalscorer, Diego Rossi. The 22-year-old scored a total of 16 goals in 2019, which put him in fourth place in the list of top MLS scorers.

In the MLS is Back tournament, Rossi has scored one goal already. Before that, he scored once in the 2020 MLS season, just before the US soccer went on the COVID-19 hiatus. For all these reasons, our prop bet suggestion this time is focused on the Uruguayan star.

Our LAFC vs LA Galaxy Prop Bet Pick:

• Diego Rossi to score anytime