The L.A. Galaxy will be hosting Los Angeles FC for the first time Saturday amid continued injury concerns and increased focus on the team surrounding newest signing, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Kick off is scheduled for noon PT at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
Last week, the Galaxy played to a scoreless draw in Vancouver without five regular starters. Forward Ola Kamara will be available after returning from international duty and defender Ashley Cole will be available after serving his one game suspension for a red card March 10th against NYCFC.
“We have some guys back from last week,” LA Galaxy head coach Sigi Schmid said. “That’s a plus for us. We’ll see. It’s a big game and it’s a game where we need guys who want to play.”
Injury concerns still hover over the locker room, as all three designated players are still not fully recovered. When asked Friday afternoon, Schmid said the training staff needed to continue evaluating Alessandrini and both Dos Santos brothers before making a determination on their availability for El Trafico. As far as Ibrahimovic fitting into the game plan, fans shouldn’t expect to see many minutes from the team’s new star.
“He’s in our 18, definitely. We’ll see how the game goes,” Schmid commented. “We’ll make a determination. We want to make a smart determination, not just make a determination for the fans on a given day, but also one that helps us and also doesn’t put him in jeopardy in terms of injury.”
Galaxy captain Ashley Cole is optimistic regarding the new changes to the team and is ready for the team to start gelling together.
“When everyone’s fit, I think we’re going to have a good team,” said LA Galaxy captain Ashley Cole. “Hopefully we gel quick. When new players come in sometimes it’s difficult. He seems like one of the lads already, and he’s only been here 3 hours. We’re looking forward to having him, but we’re focused on the game.”