Los Angeles Galaxy can extend their current unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions with a positive result against Nashville SC on Saturday.
The visitors, meanwhile, are undefeated in their last three matches, and they can leapfrog their hosts in the Western Conference with a victory at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Match preview
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LA Galaxy head into the weekend in third place with two points separating them from their local rivals Los Angeles FC, who occupy top spot in the Western Conference.
After suffering back-to-back defeats in March, the Galaxy have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes in recent weeks after beating Portland Timbers 3-1 before they claimed the bragging rights in the Los Angeles derby commonly known as El Trafico.
They followed the derby victory with a goalless draw away to Chicago Fire last weekend, while they negotiated a US Open Cup tie with San Diego Loyal in midweek, with a Kevin Cabral goal helping Saturday's hosts to a 1-0 victory.
The result against San Diego Loyal highlighted the Galaxy's sturdy defence, which has conceded two or more goals in just one of their eight matches across all competitions this season.
They also have the chance to keep a third consecutive clean sheet at the weekend, while they can also clinch a third consecutive home victory.
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As for the visitors, they have collected seven points in their last three matches, leaving them in eighth place in the Western Conference ahead of Saturday's contest.
Back-to-back victories were picked up over Columbus Crew and Sporting Kansas City before Nashville were held to a 2-2 draw by San Jose Earthquakes last weekend.
The away encounter with San Jose turned out to be the tale of two braces, with Hany Mukhtar giving the visitors the lead on two occasions, but they were pegged back twice by Jeremy Ebobisse.
With all of their matches so far taking place away from home as Nashville await the opening of their new stadium, Gary Smith will be pleased with his side's efforts this season as they continue to clock up the air miles.
Saturday's contest represents their final away match before they finally return to home surroundings and after scoring in six of their seven matches this season, they will be confident that they can trouble a resilient LA Galaxy backline.
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Team News
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Adam Saldana will not feature, with an ankle injury preventing the 20-year-old from playing a part in the opening seven MLS matches, while Jorge Villafana is also ruled out due to a knee problem.
The Galaxy made a number of changes for the US Open Cup tie in midweek, and Vanney is expected to name a lineup similar to the one that started the goalless draw against Chicago Fire last weekend.
Javier Hernandez is the only LA Galaxy player to have scored more than one goal this season, and he will be aiming to add to his five-goal tally when he leads the line on Saturday.
The visitors, on the other hand, are expected to be without Teal Bunbury, who is still sidelined due to a knee injury.
With no cup action for Nashville in midweek, they have had a week to prepare for Saturday's encounter, with Smith set to name an unchanged lineup.
After opening his account for the campaign against San Jose Earthquakes, last season's top scorer Mukhtar will be desperate to embark on a goalscoring run.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Araujo, Coulibaly, Williams, Edwards; Costa, Raveloson, Leerdam, Delgado, Cabral; Hernandez
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Zimmerman, Maher, Romney; Muyl, Godoy, Davis, Lovitz; Mukhtar, Leal; Sapong
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 1-1 Nashville SC
Saturday's contest represents the first meeting between the two sides, and with Nashville fully aware that a run of three consecutive home games are coming up in their new stadium, we think that they will be content with holding their hosts to a draw on Saturday.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Los Angeles Galaxy win with a probability of 48.49%. A win for Nashville SC had a probability of 26.43% and a draw had a probability of 25.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Los Angeles Galaxy win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.85%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.42%) and 2-0 (8.57%). The likeliest Nashville SC win was 0-1 (7.54%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.91%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Los Angeles Galaxy in this match.
