There have been many global football stars who have graced Major League Soccer since its inception in 1996. David Beckham, Thierry Henry, David Villa, Steven Gerrard, Didier Drogba, Hristo Stoichkov, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney have all added their talent to the MLS.
And LA Galaxy, where Beckham and Gerard both starred at the end of their careers, currently have one of the league’s greatest ever talents in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The giant former Sweden international has played 44 games for Galaxy, scoring an astonishing 38 goals and earning the right to captain the team. But so dominant has he been for Galaxy, that without him, their threat is drastically reduced.
Given his physical style of play, suspensions are an occupational hazard for Ibrahimovic. Having picked up a two game ban in May, he was lucky to escape without penalty after an incident in the 3-2 El Trafico victory over LAFC, but a yellow card earned in Galaxy’s 4-0 defeat in Portland last weekend means that he has accumulated enough disciplinary points to earn a one game suspension.
That is bad news for a team that has been struggling for consistency as they try to hold a position towards the top of the Western Conference. And against Saturday’s opponents, Atlanta, the absence of Ibrahimovic could be the difference between a positive result and a big defeat.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Galaxy, who have lost both of their previous MLS meetings with Atlanta, will be without Efrain Alvarez and Diego Polenta who were sent off in Portland. That leaves them in a dangerously weakened state to take on the reigning MLS champions, and explains why BetCris make LA Galaxy the +567 outsiders, with Atlanta available at -256 and the draw at +404.
Atlanta made a slow start to their campaign, and the methods of Frank de Boer have clearly taken a while to embed among the playing squad. But they have been improving steadily and are particularly strong at home. In fact, they’ve lost just once at the Mercedes Benz Stadium, where their raucous fans create a unique and overwhelming atmosphere. In fact, their last two home games produced 5-0 and 2-0 wins over Houston Dynamo and DC United respectively.
Galaxy don’t have a bad record on the road against Eastern Conference teams, but success has come against lower-ranked opponents from the East, and they were beaten by both Columbus and New York Red Bulls earlier in the season. Atlanta can claim to be better than both of those sides, who they lead by 2 points and 12 points in the Eastern Conference table.
And without the talismanic Ibrahimovic to lead the line, Galaxy could find themselves lacking the cutting edge to cause the home side, who are currently second behind Philadelphia Union, a serious threat. It’s hard to see past an Atlanta win on Saturday.
