Austin FC vs LA Galaxy Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - MLS
Austin FC arrive at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday two days after losing at home to Real Salt Lake, to face an LA Galaxy side playing its final home match of the regular season with a playoff place still to chase. The Galaxy sit one point behind Salt Lake in the Western Conference, and Austin have conceded 36 goals in 16 away matches this season.
The Matchup
The LA Galaxy play their final home match of the regular season on Saturday with the Western Conference playoff race running straight through it. The Galaxy are tenth in the West at 10-11-11 with 41 points, one point behind Real Salt Lake in the final playoff place, and they close the season against Salt Lake, so nothing about this game is a free swing.
Austin FC are fourteenth in the West at 8-10-14, and they arrive on the shortest turnaround in this fixture. Austin lost 2-1 at home to Real Salt Lake in midweek and now travel to Carson, while the Galaxy have not played since the 2-2 draw at LAFC last Sunday.
Neither club has named its side yet. The expectation is Joseph Paintsil starting again for the Galaxy after starting at LAFC, with Robert Taylor and João Klauss around him and Erik Thommy, Sergi Roberto and Pablo Ruiz in midfield.
For Austin, the expectation is Myrto Uzuni, Brandon Vázquez and Facundo Torres starting again after starting against Salt Lake in midweek. Marco Reus missed the LAFC match through illness and no confirmed update on his availability for Saturday has been published, so the Galaxy case here does not depend on him.
Key Factors
Paintsil is the form player in this game. He scored both Galaxy goals in the 2-2 draw at LAFC, in the 34th and 51st minutes, and he has 7 goals and 5 assists in 24 league appearances this season. Austin's problem is what happens to them away from home. They have conceded 36 goals in 16 away matches, and they have lost four of their last five matches, the latest of them in midweek while the Galaxy rested.
The counterpoint is the Galaxy themselves. Greg Vanney's side have drawn 11 of their 32 matches, six of them at home, and they have conceded 54 goals, so a one goal lead is never safe and the draw is the result this club keeps falling into. Austin also won 2-1 at Sporting Kansas City last weekend, so they can travel and win when a game opens up. If the Galaxy do not turn early pressure into a second goal, this line leaves them exposed to exactly the kind of late equaliser LAFC found last Sunday.
The Galaxy have the fresher legs, the home crowd for their final home match, and the one forward in this game who is scoring in bunches, while Austin arrive off a midweek defeat with a road defence that keeps giving games away. The draw is the danger, because the Galaxy fall into it too often, and a one goal win still loses half the stake, but Austin's week points to a home side that can pull clear late. Take LA Galaxy -1.25 at +101.
Game Information
| DATE | Saturday (10/31) |
|---|---|
| START TIME | 4:00 PM CT |
| HOW TO WATCH | Apple TV |
| VENUE | Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson |
| COMPETITION | MLS |
| ROUND | MLS Regular Season |
| SPREAD | LA Galaxy -1.25 (+101) |
| TOTAL | 3.25 (Over -123) |
| MONEYLINE | LA Galaxy -212 / Draw +398 / Austin FC +458 |
| DRAW NO BET | LA Galaxy -501 / Austin FC +353 |
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