The Los Angeles Galaxy will be on the road to play the Puerto Rico Islanders on Sept. 19 in a Group 5 CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) match. The match will be televised on Fox Soccer. The Galaxy currently lead the group at 2-0-0 with an eight-goal differential separating them from second-place Isidro Metapan. The Galaxy will finish CCL group play against Metapan on Oct. 25.
Series Information
The Galaxy defeated the Islanders, 4-0, in the last CCL Group 5 meeting on Aug. 29 at the Home Depot Center. However, in the 2010 edition of the CCL the Islanders defeated the Galaxy, 5-3, on aggregate in the preliminary round. Overall, the Galaxy are 2-1-0 against the Islanders, including a stunning 4-1 defeat at the Home Depot Center in 2010.
Galaxy Leaders
The Galaxy are planning to use roughly the same lineup of reserve players which were able to dominate Puerto Rico in the last meeting. Jose Villarreal, Jack McBean, Michael Stephens and Tommy Meyer all scored for L.A. in August against the Islanders. While Galaxy fans should expect to see plenty of young players on the pitch, I would not be surprised to see veteran winger and new signing Christian Wilhelmsson get a start. Wilhelmsson made an immediate impact in his first MLS match as a Galaxy player on Sept. 14 when he scored an insurance goal against the Rapids in a 2-0 win.
Islanders Leaders
Although he could not find the back of the net in August, Nicholas Addlery remains the top scoring threat for the Islanders. Addlery has nine goals in NASL play this season, which is fifth in the league. Jonathan Fana leads the Islanders in assists with five in NASL play. Richard Martin has been stellar in league play in net for the Islanders but hasn't gotten much help from his defense in CCL play.
The Galaxy will all but be assured of moving on to the quarterfinals of the tournament with a win against the Islanders. The Islanders will undoubtedly give the Galaxy everything they have in the match, but I can't see their motivation to upset our side being worth more than a draw.
More from Patrick Johnston:
LA Galaxy defeat Colorado Rapids, 2-0
David Beckham, Juninho lead LA Galaxy to 2-0 win over Whitecaps
LA Galaxy defeat Puerto Rico Islanders, 4-0Sources:
Stats from MLS Soccer.com and NASL.com
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