Columbus Crew SC heads west to take on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy for a cross-conference showdown on Saturday, July 7 at 10:30 p.m. ET at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
Columbus (8-5-6) comes in on the heels of a weather-shortened 2-0 victory over Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa in a friendly on Tuesday night at MAPFRE Stadium after defeating Real Salt Lake, 2-1, on June 30 at home.
Against Saprissa, forward Gyasi Zardes tallied the game-winner in the first half after an end-to-end build-up culminated with a calm and collected finish from Crew SC's leading scorer. Defender Josh Williams tacked on the insurance goal in the 34th minute on a set-piece corner taken by Pedro Santos.
Against Salt Lake, Crew SC got on the board early with a successful penalty kick from Zardes in the 6th minute. The tally marked the striker’s team-leading 11th goal of the season, which currently ranks tied for second across Major League Soccer. Columbus doubled down with a well-placed finish from Acura Man of the MatchEduardo Sosa, who earned his first MLS start and goal in the same game.
The Galaxy (6-7-4) are coming off a 2-2 draw at home to D.C. United on Wednesday, July 4, after tying the San Jose Earthquakes 3-3 the weekend prior. Saturday's match marks LA's third game in eight days, as the Galaxy are 2-1-2 in their last five matches.
Columbus is 2-2-1 in their last five matches against the Galaxy, with Crew SC’s last victory coming on August 23, 2017 in a 2-0 fashion at MAPFRE Stadium. The offensive stat columns favored Columbus in that match, as Crew SC outshot the Galaxy 18-5 while also out-passing (243-146) and out-possessing (62.3 percent to 37.7 percent) the western conference foe. Ibrahimovic leads the home side with 10 goals.
Crew SC continues its two-game road trip at New York City FC on Saturday, July 14 at 7 p.m. ET before returning home to host Orlando City SC on Saturday, July 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
