Ahead of Saturday's Western Conference clash at LA Galaxy, SportingKC.com caught up with the LA Times' Kevin Baxter preview #LAvSKC. Live coverage of Saturday's match (9:30 p.m. CT) is available on FOX Sports KC, FOX Sports GO, Sports Radio 810 WHB, and La Grande 1340 AM. Check out MatchDay Central for complete online coverage.
What's been the impact of new Designated Player Romain Alessandrini?
He's been scoring or setting up something like 90% of the Galaxy's goal this year, it's incredible. Alessandrini and Jelle Van Damme are the kind of new players the Galaxy are looking at. They're players who don't have a high profile in Europe but they're grinders. Alessandrini, a lot of people don't know this, has been playing the last several weeks with a groin injury and is in a lot of pain. He hasn't been training and that's why he didn't start on Wednesday (against Colorado). With both of these players, the Galaxy have gone away from the big-name and big money designated players. They're both designated players but much lower profile and they're getting a lot out of them.
With Giovani Dos Santos away on international duty, who is expected to step up on Saturday?
A guy who needs to come on though is Gyasi Zardes. He does not have a goal and has one assist. Curt Onalfo talked about the fact that he's coming back from injury and that he needs to get his timing back. He came back in April so he should be over that a little bit. He was dangerous a couple times in Colorado but he wasn't able to finish. He's the guy that everyone's looking to pick up the slack with Gio gone. Jack McBean performed well on Wednesday but long-term they need Zardes to get back on track.
What match-up are you looking forward to watching on Saturday?
I think Clement Diop, the Galaxy's goalkeeper is very athletic but sometimes he becomes too enamored with that athletic prowess. He loves to come charging off the line and gives up a lot of rebounds but did really well in Colorado. I want to see Dom Dwyer against Diop. Dwyer is a very smart player and he's a great finisher. Diop is a guy who will take risks and against a guy like Dwyer, that could really cost you. I think that's a match-up to watch, whether or not Dom Dwyer can get close enough to Diop to take advantage of a mistake or gamble that doesn't pay off.
How would you assess the Galaxy's season so far heading into Saturday's match?
I thought they are where I thought they would be, which is in one of the knockout round playoff spots. Given the fact of how they started and they've lost so many good players due to injury, I think they're overachieving. What I do like is that these young players are getting some valuable minutes, so when the starters come back it's almost like they made a trade. And the fact that they are proving they can win the road, that's going to help them in the playoffs. You look at this Galaxy team and say they won't win Supporters Shield or finish in the Top 2 and will probably finish as a knockout round team but that's where Seattle and Portland were in the last two years. This a Galaxy team that is unbeaten in eight league matches (nine if you count Open Cup) that has proven they can go on long runs. We're halfway through the season but when you look ahead to the playoffs, I think this Galaxy team has everything you want in a playoff contender.
