The LA Galaxy know they'll have their work cut out for them when they travel to Allianz Field on Saturday (6 pm ET | FOX, FOX Deportes) to take on Minnesota United FC in one of the most compelling matchups of the MLS Week 19 slate.
The Loons are one of the league's hottest teams of late, having lost just once in their last 13 matches, with last weekend's 2-0 victory over Houston Dynamo FC continuing their remarkable turnaround following a rough start to the season that saw them lose their first four games.
That's exactly the type of test his team needs at this point in the season, according to Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney, who told reporters on his Thursday video call that Minnesota represent the type of quality opposition LA will need to be able to beat come playoff time.
"I like the fact that we have a difficult opponent," Vanney said. "This is a team that is going to make the playoffs, I believe. It's a team we may see somewhere down the road in a really important game, maybe there, maybe here, we don't know. But it's good to get this experience. I like our chances, I like the way our team is coming together. We'll have the opportunity ideally to get some new faces out there to get them sort of into the mix and into the flow of the group and we'll also have the opportunity to get some guys some minutes together who maybe are just starting to develop relationships on the field. So, this is a good opportunity for us.
"I think they struggled a little bit early in the season and I think that maybe put a little chip on their shoulder. And in addition to them getting better and getting healthier and all those things that come with their group, because they have a very good roster, they've found their rhythm a little bit. At home they're a tough team to beat, you see that, and they've been on a very confident run."
The matchup comes at a time when the Galaxy are slowly but surely returning to full strength, as well as integrating a couple of new players into the fold that they hope will bolster the group down the stretch.
Vanney indicated on Thursday that star striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is getting closer to a return from the calf injury that has kept him sidelined the last several weeks, although the coach added that whether Hernandez would travel with the team to Minnesota is dependent on if he'll actually be able to play meaningful minutes in the game. Midfielder Victor Vazquez has returned to full training and will be available.
"If [Hernandez's] not able to help us on the field, he'll stay [in LA] and continue to build up his progression to hopefully get back on the field to help us out," Vanney said.
In terms of new players, Vanney said that newly acquired forward Dejan Joveljic "should be ready" to play some sort of role on Saturday. The 22-year-old is an intriguing import, arriving to LA with plenty of goal-scoring pedigree from his time playing in his native Serbia and the Austrian Bundesliga.
Left back Niko Hämäläinen, freshly arrived on loan from Queens Park Rangers, has also joined the club for a second stint in MLS and should be able to feature in the match. Hämäläinen made three appearances on loan with the Galaxy's cross-city rivals LAFC in 2019.
Joveljic's arrival presents some interesting tactical questions for Vanney, namely exactly how he'll fit on the field when Hernandez is back at full capacity. Vanney said the goal is to maintain flexibility in that regard, with Joveljic able to play in a two-forward set-up with Hernandez, or perhaps rotate the two as lone strikers as needed when they're dealing with fixture congestion.
"[Joveljic] is a forward, so he'll play forward, he won't be a midfielder, he won't be on the wings," Vanney said. "He'll be a forward. So the question where we'll see this is: Is he going to be a No. 9 by himself, is he going to work together with Javier at times? It's the beginning of this whole conversation today where we talk a lot about how many games we have, and the proximity of those games and being able to have two guys who can hold our team at a high level.
"So sometimes the two of them when they're both healthy will play together, we're comfortable with that, and we've done that at times during the course of the season," he added. "But this time we'll have two really out-and-out strikers that are used to playing in pairs as well, and sometimes we'll be able to give each of them sort of a break and then wait to split up a game and keep our momentum and presence from the attacking side against an opposition sometimes with one forward. So he'll be a starter sometimes and he'll be coming off the bench sometimes, just like everybody else in this last second half of the season as we get down the stretch."
