LA Galaxy vs Sporting Kansas City Odds & Picks – MLS Week 29 (Sept 4)

• LA Galaxy host Sporting KC in MLS action on Sunday, September 4th at 8:00 pm ET
• All-time regular-season series between clubs is now level at 26-26-15
• Read on for betting odds, a full preview and best bets for this match

With these two former MLS Cup champions currently on the outside of the playoff picture and looking in, time is running out for both to vault themselves into the league’s promised land.

Just a handful of games are left in the regular season, so Sunday’s meeting at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. is a crucial one for both teams.

The Galaxy are just a point outside of the playoff places, with two games in hand on seventh-placed Portland. But for Sporting KC, the postseason seems more of a mirage, with Peter Vermes’s squad 10 points back with just 18 available and their MLS Cup odds slipping away.

Los Angeles Galaxy vs Sporting Kansas City Odds

Odds as of September 2nd at Caesars Sportsbook. Check out these Caesars Sportsbook bonuses before betting these odds

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Odds & Over/Under

While the Galaxy are heavily favored at home, a venue where they have gone 7-5-2 this season, Sporting KC actually have a 3-1-1 record in their last five visits there, so Kansas sports betting might get some action there.

On top of that, Kansas City has won the past three contests between the two sides, with its last loss to the Galaxy coming almost three years ago on September 15, 2019.

However, expect a close game here, with Sporting posting their first clean sheet since May in last weekend’s win over San Jose, while Los Angeles has given up just three goals in its past 180 minutes of action.

Galaxy Coming Around

After largely experiencing a summer to forget, when Los Angeles lost six of the seven league games it played between July 9 and August 7, Greg Vanney’s team is coming around of late.

Since losing 4-2 away to Sporting KC a month ago, the Galaxy are 2-0-2, and have seen their playoff hopes elevated as a result.

One thing the Galaxy need to do to ensure success is to score first, however, with the team 10-1-3 when scoring first, as opposed to a 1-10-1 record when giving up the first goal.

Given that Sporting has scored first in their past four games, LA will have to be on guard.

Chicharito Heating Up

The club captain is on fire of late. Mexico’s all-time leading scorer has five goals in the club’s past five games – including both in his team’s loss to Sporting.

Given that the team is unbeaten over the last four, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez is clearly a sparkplug for his team and will need to maintain his purple patch here.

Riqui Puig threads the needle to find Chicharito 🪡

(via @MLS)pic.twitter.com/VRifKvFUB8

— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 29, 2022

After scoring just eight times during the six losses over the summer, the team has found the back of the net 12 times in its last four.

While Chicharito has led the way, he’s also been getting some offensive support of late, with Spain’s  Victor Vazquez getting two, while fellow former Barcelona starlet Riqui Puig opened his MLS account with a late equalizer in Toronto in midweek.

RIQUI PUIG'S FIRST MLS GOAL IS A STUNNER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/upt6lWXxZa

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 1, 2022

More Than A Sporting Chance

Given KC’s record at Dignity Health Sports Park in recent years, it might be fair to dismiss its lowly league position so far this season.

With wins there in 2017, 2018 and 2021, this rival stadium is anything but inhospitable to Vermes’s squad, with Sporting building up a 3-1-1 record there in their past five visits.

While scoreless draws are a rare occurrence in this rivalry – just three in 67 encounters – Sporting wins have been the norm of late, with KC holding a 7-2-4 record against LA in the teams’ last 13 regular-season meetings.

Russell The Thorn In LA’s Side

While many in blue and indigo have been prickly opponents for the Galaxy of late, Johnny Russell deserves particular attention by the LA defenders, with the Scottish forward having scored five goals in his last seven games.

In particular, he scored three goals across both encounters last year, so he knows where the net is at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Johnny Russell with the curler 🌀 pic.twitter.com/33L8QUnpan

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 12, 2022

And though Russell didn’t score in his team’s 4-2 victory over LA last month, he leads all KC players with nine goals this season, so surely it’s just a matter of time before he finds the net against the Galaxy once more?

LA Galaxy vs Sporting KC Team Lineups and Injuries

LA Galaxy Projected Lineup: Bond; Araujo, Coulibaly, Williams, Edwards; Costa, Puig, Brugman, Grandsir; Vazquez, Hernandez

LA Galaxy Injuries: Gaines, Duenas

Sporting KC Projected Lineup: Pulskamp; Zusi, Isimat-Mirin, Fontas, Ndenbe; Hernandez, Walter, Thommy; Russell, Salloi, Agada

Sporting KC Injuries: Melia, Cisneros, Thompson-Ford, Kina, Pulido

LA Galaxy vs Sporting KC MLS Stats

LA Galaxy vs Sporting KC Best Bet

Although Sporting have won the past three games in this particular rivalry, to level the all-time series at 26-26-15, the Galaxy currently have the playoffs in sight and are heavily motivated to get there, winning three of their past five games.

Expect Chicharito to lead his team to victory here.

Pick: LA Galaxy (-160)