Nashville SC vs Los Angeles Galaxy: Defense Looks More Stable

• Nashville SC will take on Los Angeles Galaxy this Saturday at the GEODIS Park
• Nashville SC have scored 14 goals in their last four matches in the MLS 
• Los Angeles Galaxy have drawn their last two matches in the MLS 

Nashville SC vs Los Angeles Galaxy Odds

Odds in red, are the best available at the moment! Click on the odds below and place your bet.

Nashville SC vs Los Angeles Galaxy Prediction

Both sides are looking like they’re shoo-ins for the playoffs with Nashville SC currently going through their best form all season, whereas Los Angeles Galaxy have been fairly free-scoring in recent gameweeks.

They’ve got in-form strikers, which should make for a great game. The two sides have only met once before with Los Angeles Galaxy winning 1-0 back in April. Los Angeles Galaxy have got more to lose in this tie but it’s really hard to bet against Nashville SC right now, who are certainly one of the most in-form sides in the league at this moment in time. It should be a cracking game.

Previous Meetings

As stated in the previous section, Los Angeles won this game 1-0 back in April with Dejan Joveljic finding the back of the net in the 86th minute. LA Galaxy were fully deserving of all three points, reducing Nashville SC to only three shots while taking 13 themselves, including five on goal. Nashville SC just couldn’t get going on the day but should look a lot better in this match because they’ve improved since and will also be playing at home.

Nashville SC Get Their Fourth Win In A Row

Hany Mukhtar’s late brace and Walker Zimmerman’s goal in the 49th minute led Nashvillle FC to their fourth win in a row. They also kept a clean sheet in the 3-0 win on the weekend, which has now taken them to fourth place on the western conference standings.

Nashville SC had to ride their luck in the first half with Dan Lovitz having to clear a ball off his line. Danny Hoesen of Austin FC also had a great chance a minute later to open the scoring but they managed to do just enough by putting their bodies on the line in defense before being rewarded with the goals and all three points.

Hany Mukhtar is Now the Favorite to Win MLS Golden Boot

It looked like Austin FC’s Sebastian Driussi was certainly going to win the golden boot but this run of form for Nashville SC has coincided with an incredible run of goalscoring for Hany Mukhtar, who is now on 21 goals for the season. He’s also registered eight assists, which is ridiculously impressive.

For long stretches of the season, Mukhtar was having the highest expected goals value among MLS players this season but his goal tally was well short of the mark. He’s made up for it within weeks and is well above his 17 expected goals for the season. He’s also around the top percentile for forwards in metrics like progressive passes, carries and dribbles completed, which goes to show just how dangerous a package he is.

Defense Looks More Stable

The team is finally playing up to its potential and it’s hard to see LA Galaxy get too many chances against them. They’ve conceded 37 goals all season, which isn’t too bad when compared to most other sides and they’ve also got an expected goals against value of just 32.4. Everything that wasn’t clicking earlier in the season is starting to click now and their place in the upper half of the western conference table is well deserved. The underlying numbers suggest that they should be second on the western conference standings and there’s still time for them to do something about that.

Injuries And Suspensions

Ake Arnaud Loba is out with a muscle injury but should be back in a week or two.

LA Galaxy Draw Again

Los Angeles should’ve got all three points on the weekend against Sporting Kansas City. The match ended 2-2 after Javier Hernandez’s panenka attempt from the penalty spot was read by John Pulskamp, seven minutes after the 90. Hernadez apologized after the game, having scored two in the game prior to that. His first came in the fourth minute of the match but Sporting Kansas City made a second-half fight back thanks to a Johnny Russel penalty in the 67th minute and Felipe Hernandez strike nine minutes later.

Hernadez scored his second in the 88th minute from the spot to level the scoring. There was no panenka at the time. It’ll ultimately feel like points were dropped.

Hernandez Has Hit Form In Recent Weeks

The miss from the penalty spot shouldn’t take away from the fact that Javier Hernandez is on a great run of form at the moment. He made a slow start to the season but has now got 14 goals for the season. His underlying numbers were looking good all year and he’s now matched his 14.2 expected goals.

They’ll need him to keep this up for the coming games and hope that his experience can get them through an important couple of games.

Los Angeles Galaxy Should Make It To The Playoffs

With five MLS cup titles, LA Galaxy are by some distance the most successful MLS team of all time. They always carry a lot of expectations and no excuses will be tolerated. Their underlying numbers have looked good all season compared to some of the other teams in their conference but they haven’t been able to capitalize on decent performances.

They’ve given themselves a lot to do in these finals weeks but should have enough to make it to the playoffs.

Injuries And Suspensions

Left-back Jorge Villafana has been out since March with a knee issue and undergone surgery. There is no expected return date.

How to Watch Nashville SC vs Los Angeles Galaxy