The 2018 Eastern Conference champions travel the breadth of the country to try and stop Carlos Vela and his in-form team-mates
LAFC meet the New York Red Bulls on Sunday in a clash between two of the superpowers of MLS.
Spearheaded by Carlos Vela, the hosts come into this match the runaway leaders of the Western Conference, having recorded three wins in their last four.
Their New York rivals, however, are five points off the pace in the Eastern Conference, despite a 2-0 win over Toronto last time out.
Who will prevail at the Banc of California Stadium?
| Game | LAFC vs New York Red Bulls |
| Date | Sunday, August 11 |
| Time | 3:00am BST / 10:00pm ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Fox Sports 1 / Fox Deportes | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the UK, the match will be shown on FreeSports but will not be streamed.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| FreeSports | n/a |
| Position | LAFC squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Miller, Sisniega |
| Defenders | Zimmerman, Segura, Jakovic, Batista, Harvery, Beitashour, Blackmon |
| Midfielders | Atuesta, Guido, Kaye, Nguyen, Vassell |
| Forwards | Rossi, Blessing, Rodriguez, Vela, Perez, Diomande, Zelaya, Perez |
Mohamed El-Munir and Javi Perez miss out, while it seems highly unlikely that either Pablo Sisniega or Alejandro Guido might play.
Brian Rodriguez has been added to the roster from Penarol, while Christian Ramirez was surprisingly traded to the Houston Dynamo.
Possible LAFC starting XI: Miller; Harvey, Segura, Blackmon, Beitashour; Atuesta, Kaye, Blessing; Rossi, Diomande, Vela
| Position | New York Red Bulls squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Robles, Meara, Louro |
| Defenders | Parker, Long, Tarek, Nealis, Lawrence, Buckmaster, Murillo, Lade, Duncan |
| Midfielders | Davis, Rzatkowski, Casseres, Koffi, Gamarra, Bezecourt |
| Forwards | Royer, Sims, Muyl, Ivan, Mines, Wright-Phillips, Jorgensen, White, Barlow, Fernandezz |
Long-term injury concern Florian Valot continues to miss out for the New York Red Bulls, who will need to check on Alex Muyl late on.
Southampton midfielder Josh Sims has arrived on loan.
Possible New York Red Bulls starting XI: Robles; Murillo, Long, Parker, Lawrence; Casseres, Davis; Rzatkowski, Gamarra, Royet; White
LAFC are red-hot 3/10 favorites to win this match with bet365. New York Red Bulls are out at 8/1, while the draw is on offer at 9/2.
Click here to see all of bet365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
LAFC will attempt to continue its dominance of MLS Sunday when the club tackles the New York Red Bulls at the Bank of California Stadium in the highlight clash of the weekend.
The Black and Gold is firmly established as the team to beat this season. Having picked up 52 points from a possible 69, they are 10 points better off than any other side in either division – and that is despite playing two matches short of Eastern Conference leaders the Philadelphia Union.
In Carlos Vela, LAFC has MLS’ hottest property, with the Mexico international having contributed 22 goals in 22 games this season, while the team’s offense has struck 61 times, again a league-leading statistic by an enormous margin.
“Concentration has been high,” Walker Zimmerman said when as to explain the high level of the team. “I think guys are realizing what we’re doing doesn’t happen every year. What we’re doing is special and I think guys notice that. And that kind of helps in our preparation because every game still matters. We’re chasing trophies, we’re chasing records in points and wins. It presents a challenge each and every game. And it helps guys get motivated every game.”
But with such a strong record, LA has become a target for opponents, too. It recently lost the derby to the LA Galaxy, their third defeat of the season, and though the team bounced back with wins against Atlanta United and New England, it will face a massive test against a Red Bulls outfit that has specialized in playing the big guns this season.
While Chris Armas’ side has been inconsistent, it has typically saved its best performances for the greatest stages.
“I think we’ve done well against better teams this year,” midfielder Sean Davis said. “But we have to continue to improve against all teams. It doesn’t matter who we play, we have to show up with the right mentality. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing teams that are just trying to kick it long, we have to show up with the right mentality and how to combat that and play well.”
New York boasts wins over MLS Cup champions Atlanta and the LA Galaxy this season, but as Luis Robles admitted, it will have to be at its best to take the points on Sunday.
“Something that has become apparent this season is that we play to the level of our opponent,” the goalkeeper said. “So I’m hoping that plays out the same way against LAFC because they’re the top team. They’re the team that everyone’s gunning for. And it’s going to be a really good test for us.”
Come full-time, the Red Bulls will know exactly where they sit in comparison to MLS’ star team.