Los Angeles at New England
Location: Foxboro Stadium
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Television: ESPN2
Satellite: Galaxy 5, Tr. 9
Previous Meeting: none
Injuries: Los Angeles — F John Garvey (sprained ankle), M Arash Noamouz (strained knee) and M Chris Armas (sprained ankle) are day-to-day, F Jose Vasquez is on injured reserve; New England — F Bojan Vuckovic (sprained ankle) is probable, D Iain Fraser (recovering from groin surgery) is day to day, D Peter Woodring (strained achilles) is doubtful.
Preview: The Galaxy will look to remain unbeaten in the second of three straight on the road. L.A. should have Ecuadoran Eduardo Hurtado back in the lineup — the Galaxy forward scored the second goal in his country’s 2-0 home win over Argentina June 2. The matchup between “El Tanque” (6-3 and 200 pounds) and New England’s Alexi Lalas (6-3, 195) should be an intriguing, physical battle. L.A. midfielder Mauricio Cienfuegos played all 90 minutes against the Mutiny, despite the gash in his shin from Columbus midfielder Todd Yeagley’s foul on May 26, and he should be ready to go tonight. Harut Karapetyan has stepped up his game of late and scored three times in the past two games. Recent national team call-up Robin Fraser anchors a defense that has allowed just 8 goals in 8 games.
New England’s lineup will be unsettled, with Geoff Aunger sitting out after receiving his fifth yellow card last Saturday in the Revolution’s 2-1 loss at Kansas City, and Peter Woodring doubtful due to a strained Achilles heel. Look for Victory Mella, the former Clash midfielder, to start, and for Iain Fraser to make his Revolution debut now that he’s recovered from groin surgery. The goalkeeper controversy returns as well, as Aiden Heaney (1.19 GAA) is back in the net after his one-game suspension. Jim St. Andre, whom Heaney replaced earlier in the season, played well during Heaney’s absence. The Revolution’s defense has been solid so far, but it will have a rough time with the speed of Cienfuegos and Jones, and the power of Hurtado.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Los Angeles — Campos, R. Fraser, Calichman, Motajo, Semioli, Salcedo, Vanney, Cienfuegos, Jones, Karapetyan, Hurtado.
New England — Heaney, Chronopoulos, Lalas, Burns, I. Fraser, DeBrito, Mella, Naveda, Welton, Keegan, Sawatzky.
Prediction: Revs are game, but Galaxy prevails 2-1.