LA Galaxy travel to Sporting KC in search of first win of 2023

After weather postponed a highly anticipated El Trafico opener and the defense failed to hold up in a Week 2 defeat, the LA Galaxy head to Sporting Kanas City on Saturday still in search of their points of the new MLS season. 

Sporting KC enters their home opener having yet to score after posting a 1-0 loss at Portland on opening weekend followed by a scoreless draw in Colorado. Last year's season series with Galaxy was most memorable not for the results but for Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez's infamous saved Panenka penalty in a 2-2 draw in LA in early September.

Chicharito will miss out again this time with a hamstring injury that is delaying his debut, while winger Douglas Costa (calf) and left back Chase Gasper (groin) are also out to injury and Sega Coulibaly deals with a personal issue.

 Let’s dive into more about the Galaxy's second game of the season

Three questions heading into #SKCvLA

Will Tyler Boyd start?

After the LA Galaxy’s wingers struggled to create width and stretch the backline during most of the game against Dallas, Tyler Boyd showed some positives during his second-half cameo and Galaxy debut.

Vanney has praised Boyd's progress in integrating into his new team and suggested he will play more. He last started a soccer match last November, so regaining fitness following his signing last month is an issue.

With Efrain Alvarez and Memo Rodriguez struggling to create width and make runs to move defenders last match, Boyd can add that from the start. Vanney’s system needs wingers to not only be goal dangerous but provide plenty of movement in order to create space for somebody to exploit in the box.

With the previously mentioned Rodriguez’s primary position in the midfield, taking him out for Boyd will give LA the best possibility to replicate their recipe for success.

Can Puig make a bigger impact?

Riqui Puig wasn't bad against FC Dallas, taking some good shots on goal and completing more than 90% of his passes, but he lacked the creative impact we came to expect toward the end of last season.

Although Puig isn’t a No.10, his offensive-oriented style from the No. 8 role means you’ll notice his impact through his line-breaking passes and passes that lead to scoring chances. Against Dallas, he failed to record a single key pass or chance created and lost the ball 13 times, one of those leading to Dallas' third goal.

Can Edwards turn his form around?

Left back Raheem Edwards clearly struggled in his defending against Dallas, something that had been a concern after poor preseason performances. And with Gasper out, Vanney doesn't really have another option at the moment. (Though the Galaxy appears to be bringing in another left back.)

Edwards struggled to win aerial duels against the smaller Paul Arriola in the loss to Dallas, contributing to the home side's goals. But in terms of getting caught while Edwards ventured forward, the Galaxy also hurt themselves by turning the ball over too easily -- 30 times in all.

He also needs to be more selective about when he takes on opponents on the dribble. When it went wrong against Dallas, the Galaxy were easily opened up.

Two things I'll be watching

Feeding Dejan Joveljić

With just two touches in the box for LA’s Serbian number No. 9, giving Joveljić quality service will be key to getting more chances. Although he scored the Galaxy’s only goal, he struggled to stay involved after that opening goal.

Vanney has emphasized that Joveljić needs movement from support players behind him.

“We've got to have guys who are working behind the back line, want to stretch the back line to create spaces in between lines, you want to move center backs to create spaces for your striker,” Vanney said.

Chicharito needs the same thing when he's healthy — and the players behind him provided that down the stretch last season when he scored 11 goals in his last 14 league appearances.

“It's no different whether it's [Chicharito] or Dejan, it's the similar types of strikers that can who are fantastic finishers, but they also need good movements around them quality of service, things like that matter for those for those guys as well,” Vanney said.

How will Willy Agada fare? 

The center back duo of Chris Mavinga and Martín Cáceres struggled to track Jesus Ferreira's runs last week and will now face the mobile William Agada. Kansas City is due a couple of goals after failing to score despite generating 1.9 expected goals so far this season, and Agada's 0.4 xG is second on the team.

Sporting KC has scored multiple goals in nine of their previous 11 games against the Galaxy in all competitions, including six across two games last year. Agada scored three of those and was a constant threat in the box with his athleticism and movements.

While SKC's still looking for its first goal of 2023, it could come on Saturday. 

Numbers of intrigue: 0-5-4

That is Vanney’s record (W-L-D) in nine matches against SKC coach Peter Vermes in MLS.

“I think playing in Kansas City specifically is challenging,” Vanney said. “[SKC] are organized, they do what they're going to do. They do it well they're kind of like a machine in a way.”

The Galaxy last won at Children’s Mercy Park in 2019, and that's their only win there in their last 14 trips to the stadium in all competitions.

“We've got to go and try to do things better than we did the first week and improve on our performance and not make the mistakes specifically always on the road," Vanney said. "They're really difficult to come back from some time so we got to be better in those situations."