LAFC vs. Minnesota United
Wednesday, May 29 at 7:45pm PT
Location: BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, CA 🏟
TV: FREE on Apple TV – MLS Season Pass 🖥, FS1 📺
Radio: 710 AM ESPN 📻, ESPN LA App 📱, KFWB 980 AM La Mera Mera 📻, Sirius XM FC 📡
Coming off a 1-0 road win over Atlanta United (the 100th regular-season win in LAFC’s history), the Black & Gold welcomes Minnesota United FC to Los Angeles on Wednesday, for a key Western Conference clash at BMO Stadium.
Mateusz Bogusz’s free-kick goal in the 63rd minute helped the Black & Gold improve to 7W-4L-3D in MLS play and lifted LAFC into fourth place in the Western Conference table. LAFC has won five straight matches across all competitions and is in the midst of a 394-minute streak without conceding a goal.
Against the Loons, the Black & Gold holds an all-time record of 3W-3L-5D in all competitions. Prior to its 2-0 defeat on March 16 against the Loons, LAFC had been unbeaten in its last seven meetings in the series dating back to 2019.
Minnesota in-depth
Led by 32-year-old first-time head coach Eric Ramsay, the Loons are off to a hot start in 2024 after missing the playoffs in 2023.
MNUFC currently has a record of 7W-2L-4D, placing them second place (25 points) in the Western Conference standings, having played two fewer games than leader Real Salt Lake (29 points) Minnesota is in the midst of a six-game unbeaten run, with its last loss coming against the Houston Dynamo on April 13 in a 2-1 defeat.
Ramsay, the youngest head coach in MLS, joined Minnesota United after two-and-a-half years as a first-team assistant for English Premier League side Manchester United, under managers Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Erik ten Hag.
Forward Tani Oluwaseyi has emerged as the club’s main scoring threat with six goals and three assists to lead the team through 13 games played. All the more impressive, is that he entered as a substitute in eight of those games.
The Black & Gold Can Win If:
The team can continue to roll with the momentum it has built on the road and at home. LAFC will be challenged in the midfield as it will be without Eduard Atuesta (red card suspension). LAFC needs to find a way to get on the scoreboard first in an environment where it has yet to lose a game this season (5W-0L-2D).
Minnesota Can Win If:
The Loons find a way to break apart a stingy LAFC backline that hasn’t allowed a goal in its last four matches across all competitions. Having scored 14 goals in their last six matches, MNUFC are primed to give the Black & Gold issues, especially with LAFC’s shorthanded midfield on short rest. Meanwhile, the Loons will need to find ways to slow down the Black & Gold in transition, which is where LAFC’s attack is most dangerous.
