Match Briefing for 12.C.04: Los Angeles Galaxy, Superliga Semis

Match #: 12.C.04

Opponent:
Los Angeles Galaxy

Six Word Novel Preview: Inaugural tournament final appearance is possible.

TV: TeleFutura, TV Azteca, MLSLIVE.tv, 10PM

Radio: None

Previous Meeting: 1-0 DC Win. Weren't you there? Here is The DCenters Debrief.

The Stakes: United travels to the Home Depot center to fight for a spot in the Superliga finals. DC Had the weekend to rest, while LA sandwiched a loss to the Revolution since playing at RFK last Thursday. Beckham has announced he will definitely play, will we have Gomez starting

Previews from the DCUniverse: Soccer Insider, more as we see them...

Previews from the LALALand: I think they're too busy dissecting Beck's injury

Expectations: I fully expect DC to win this game. Watching LA against New England, the team had little spark and seemed very out of sorts. Landon made some dangerous runs, but couldn't do it all himself. Will Beckham + Donovan be enough to get an LA victory? I doubt it. Both Gomez and Moreno practiced with the team, but haven't seen a lot of minutes lately which means they'll be rusty, more so Gomito.

What to look for?

1. Beckham's Ankle - seriously, you won't be able to miss it. Not sure if Telefutura will turn into BSPNDeportes, but for you non-bilinguals at least you can tune out the announcers. Becks says he can play a half, and might start. He had some dangerous passes and setup some dangerous plays last Thursday, so he can be a factor.
   


2. Moreno's Passing - When he's involved in the attack and clicking with the other attackers, DC can string possession together and fabricate some lovely runs and passes. There was a hint of this in the second half of last weeks game, but if we want to score the first goals, he'll have to be involved.
   


3. Killer Instincts - Its such a cliche, but we'll have to finish the few chances we get. That means no more skying the ball over the cross bar in some bizarre homage to the memory of Earnie Stewart. The narrowed field that Yallop installed at the HDC will limit the space United's players have to work with, so they'll have to move the ball quicker, make faster decision, and make runs to anticipate a pass if they want to be effective.