2025 MLS: LA Galaxy vs LAFC: Another Red Light for Galaxy in El Trafico?
Hosts have fallen off a cliff this season
Has there been a bigger turnaround, or a negative nature, than the one we’re currently seeing at Dignity Health Sports Park right now? Sunday's hosts come into this El Trafico in truly shocking form, losing last time out in Philadelphia, conceding three goals in the process.
The 2024 MLS Cup winners are not only without a win in Major League Soccer this season, but they’ve lost each of their last five, scoring only five goals during that time, conceding a whopping 16. Such form is not what you want ahead of a game against your biggest rivals, that’s for sure.
Even in front of their own fans, where they were so strong last season, Greg Vanney’s men have floundered, losing four of five in MLS, collecting just one home point. No Western Conference team has less points than the Galaxy this term. Worrying times indeed.
An El Trafico tie is a commodity in short supply
When will these city rivals leave the field having shared the spoils? Somewhat strangely there hasn’t been a tie in this fixture since 2021, which is longer ago than it might sound, at least in terms of the number of games played since then.
Since tying 1-1 at Dignity Health Sports Park back in October 2021, when the now departed Samuel Grandsir cancelled out an early opener from Mamadou Mbacke, who now plays for Barcelona B in Spain, the Galaxy and LAFC have faced off on no less than 11 times. None of those 11 games have ended all square.
During the 2024 campaign, we saw three renewals of this exciting fixture, with LAFC winning 2-1 at home, before repeating that trick away from home, with the Galaxy getting some revenge when the pair met for a third time, winning by four goals to zero in front of a home crowd.
Interestingly, since the first ever El Trafico back in 2018, the rivals have tied just five times, with the Galaxy narrowly leading the head-to-head record, beating Los Angeles FC ten times. LAFC have nine El Trafico victories in the bank.
Is there any hope for the hosts?
The Galaxy may lead the El Trafico head-to-head, but as touched on above, they approach this fixture in desperately poor form.
Given the form that they’re in, is there any hope of them picking up an 11th El Trafico win? Well, you often hear people say that form goes out of the window when it comes to derby games, but let’s be honest, it’s not just for going against the hosts here.
As well as lacking confidence thanks to their awful recent run, the hosts are likely to be playing this game without some of their brightest stars. Christian Ramirez and Marco Reus may be fit, meaning that the hosts do have some level of offensive threat, but the likes of Gabriel Pec, Riqui Puig and Joseph Painstil have all been injured of late, which seriously weakens Greg Vanney’s team.
Let’s be honest, unless a couple of those three players regain full fitness in time to feature on Sunday evening, then this El Trafico only appears to be going one way, and that’s not the way of the hosts.
Bouanga back at it again?
One interesting angle on Sunday night will be Denis Bouanga’s quest for a goal in a fifth straight El Trafico.
Since joining forces with LAFC, the Gabon international has typically scored for fun, scoring 25 goals in his first Major League Soccer campaign, before adding a further 21 last season.
Bouanga has already started the current season in hot form, scoring six goals, while he’s no stranger to banging them in against the Galaxy, scoring in each of the last four El Trafico fixtures, notching a total of five goals. Can he add to that tally here? With the hosts struggling, I certainly wouldn’t bet against him, put it that way.
