Colorado Rapids vs. LA Galaxy Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 9/11/21

Colorado is in solid form and hosts an L.A. Galaxy team they recently beat in their current seven-match unbeaten streak.

While the Rapids are in solid form the same cannot be said for the Galaxy. They are coming off a thrilling 3-3 draw in their last match and have not won in their last three matches. They sit fourth in the Western Conference five points back of Colorado, who they lost to 2-1 at home on August 18th. While L.A. is tied for second in the West in goals scored, they have also given up the second-most goals in the conference.

The Rapids are coming off a win and in their last seven matches, they have five wins and two draws. They are in second place in the West only one point back of the Seattle Sounders. The Colorado has conceded the second-fewest goals in the West only giving up 20 in 21 matches.

Defense Has Not Been Good

In the Galaxy’s last three matches their defense has struggled giving up a total of seven goals. In their last match, they played to a 3-3 draw with LAFC where Dejan Joveljić scored twice and Kevin Cabral scored in the 86th minute to secure the draw. The match was pretty even in terms of time of possession but they were outshot 25-10 and outshot 11-5 on shots on target. In the loss to Colorado last month the Galaxy won the time of possession battle (65% to 35%) and had more shots and shots on target and still lost.

Star Javier Hernández leads the club with 10 goals but he has not played since late June and while listed as questionable he is unlikely to play in this match. Cabal and Rayan Raveloson have combined for nine goals this season and Julian Araujo leads the team with five assists. DF Jorge Villafaña and Jalen Neal are also listed as questionable for this match.

Great Defense Once Again

In Colorado’s last match they were at home and kept a clean sheet beating San Jose 1-0 and in their seven-match unbeaten streak, they have only conceded five goals. In the win over San Jose, it looked like it would end in a draw but substitute Dominique Badji scored in the 89th minute. The time of possession was pretty even as were the total shots but the Rapids only allowed two shots on target while they had five. Colorado has only allowed more than one goal in one of their last 10 matches including their last seven.

Michael Barrios leads the balanced Rapids with five goals, Andre Shinyashiki and Diego Rubio have netted four apiece, and Jack Price leads the club with seven assists. MF Price is suspended for this match and DF Lalas Abubakar is listed as questionable with a head injury. The Rapids have not lost at home since dropping their home opener.

Pick: Colorado Rapids -120

The Rapids are in solid form with five wins and two draws in their last seven matches and in that span they beat the Galaxy in La La Land 2-1. L.A. is winless in their last three matches and they played to a draw in their last one where they gave up three goals. The Galaxy are in the playoff picture but they have a goal differential of 0. Their defense has given up the second-most goals in the Western Conference and in their last three matches have conceded seven goals. Colorado is also unbeaten in their last seven home matches and in this one on their pitch they will play well on both sides. Their attack will get it done against a suspect L.A. defense and their D will be more than solid once again. The Rapids will get the W in this match extending their unbeaten streak to eight.

Toal: Over 2.5 goals

Not too surprising that I am leaning towards the Over in this Western Conference affair. The Galaxy have had major issues on defense all season giving up the second-most goals in the conference. They gave up three in their last match and have given up seven in their last three. Colorado has not been lighting it up on the attack as of late but look for them to score multiple goals in this one. Their D has been great on the season and in their seven-match unbeaten streak where they have only conceded five goals. I do not see them keeping a clean sheet in this one facing a solid Galaxy attack. I look for around the same score in this match as in the recent one between these clubs in L.A. where the Rapids won 2-1. That is why the Over is the pick for this one.