{"id":920810,"date":"2026-07-18T18:13:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T23:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/18\/el-trafico-la-galaxy-lafc-battle-for-bragging-rights-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T18:13:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T23:13:24","slug":"el-trafico-la-galaxy-lafc-battle-for-bragging-rights-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/18\/el-trafico-la-galaxy-lafc-battle-for-bragging-rights-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"El Tr\u00e1fico! LA Galaxy, LAFC battle for bragging rights | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<article xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>One of MLS\u2019s biggest rivalries takes center stage on Friday night, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/la-galaxy\/\">LA Galaxy<\/a> host\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/los-angeles-football-club\/\">LAFC<\/a> for a highly anticipated El Tr\u00e1fico following the 2026\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\/\">FIFA World Cup<\/a> break.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>How to watch &#038; stream<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/soc.cr\/44PbBZw\">Apple TV<\/a><\/li>\n<li>FOX, FOX Deportes<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3>When<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/mls-regular-season\/2026\/matches\/lavslafc-07-17-2026\/\">Friday, July 17<\/a> | 10:25 pm ET\/7:25 pm PT<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3>Where<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Dignity Health Sports Park | Carson, California<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3><strong>Standings<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>9th in Western Conference<\/li>\n<li>20 points (5W-5L-5D)<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>Last match<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>LA entered the World Cup break having lost just once in their last six matches.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Most recently, they played to a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/mls-regular-season\/2026\/matches\/lavshou-05-23-2026\/\">1-1 draw<\/a> vs. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/houston-dynamo-fc\/\">Houston Dynamo FC<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/joseph-paintsil\/\">Joseph Paintsil<\/a> netted the opener before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/guilherme\/\">Guilherme<\/a> equalized for the visitors.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>Players to watch<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Marco Reus:<\/strong> The legendary German midfielder leads LA in goal contributions (4g\/5a) following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/gabriel-pec\/\">Gabriel Pec<\/a>&#8216;s midseason exit.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Joseph Paintsil:<\/strong> Producing 3g\/4a thus far in 2026, the Ghanaian international causes defenders nightmares with his pace and directness from the wing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jakob Glesnes:<\/strong> A former MLS Defender of the Year, the Galaxy acquired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/jakob-glesnes\/\">Glesnes<\/a> via a blockbuster offseason trade with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/philadelphia-union\/\">Philadelphia Union<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>Need to know<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Who will step up following Pec&#8217;s departure?<\/p>\n<p>The 2024 MLS Newcomer of the Year was recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/la-galaxy-transfer-gabriel-pec-to-cruzeiro\">transferred<\/a> to Brazilian S\u00e9rie A side Cruzeiro for a club-record fee (<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tombogert\/status\/2072887518375342279?s=20\">reportedly<\/a> up to $13.5 million).<\/p>\n<p>As the Galaxy replace the Brazilian winger, they have his 5g\/5a worth of production to account for \u2013 and an open Designated Player roster spot to use in the summer transfer window.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sE-7-AidILU?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"Joseph Paintsil's Secret Passion: The Music Behind LA Galaxy's Star | Breakaway presented by AT&#038;T\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3><strong>Standings<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>5th in Western Conference<\/li>\n<li>24 points (7W-5L-3D)<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>Last match<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>After dropping three straight matches, LAFC headed into the World Cup pause on a high note by defeating Western Conference rival <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/seattle-sounders-fc\/\">Seattle Sounders FC<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/mls-regular-season\/2026\/matches\/lafcvssea-05-24-2026\/\">1-0<\/a>, thanks to a late goal by midfielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/timothy-tillman\/\">Timothy Tillman<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><h3><strong>Players to watch<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Son Heung-Min:<\/strong> Returning from World Cup duty as South Korea&#8217;s captain, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/son-heung-min\/\">Son<\/a> leads MLS with nine assists as he searches for his first goal of the season.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Denis Bouanga:<\/strong> The Gabonese international forward paces LAFC in goal contributions with 6g\/5a, forming a dangerous attacking partnership with Son.<\/li>\n<li><strong>David Mart\u00ednez:<\/strong> Enjoying a breakout season in Black &#038; Gold (5g\/2a), this ultra-talented 20-year-old winger has been dubbed &#8220;La Joya&#8221; (a.k.a. the jewel) in his native Venezuela.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3><strong>Need to know<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>No team started the year hotter than the Black &#038; Gold, who opened the season unbeaten in their first 11 matches across all competitions, including nine wins and an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/lafc-set-new-mls-shutout-record-to-begin-season\">MLS shutout record<\/a>. But LAFC stumbled following their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/concacaf-champions-cup\/\">Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> semifinal exit with three consecutive league losses.<\/p>\n<p>Although they snapped that losing skid vs. the Sounders, there&#8217;s still work to be done for head coach Marc Dos Santos&#8217; side to challenge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/vancouver-whitecaps-fc\/\">Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/san-jose-earthquakes\/\">San Jose Earthquakes<\/a> atop the Western Conference.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t16fTxJigoM?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"Denis Bouanga Takes Us Shopping Down Rodeo Drive\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Polymarket Insights<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>LAFC have a narrow edge with 40% of the market, compared to 35% for LA. But if there&#8217;s one thing El Tr\u00e1fico has taught us over the years, it&#8217;s that goals \u2013 and chaos \u2013 tend to overtake current form.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/polymarket-app.onelink.me\/S8ac?af_xp=referral&#038;pid=MLS50&#038;c=MLS50&#038;deep_link_sub1=MLS50&#038;af_sub1=editorial\" target=\"_blank\">Download Polymarket<\/a>:\u00a0<strong>$50 Bonus with code MLS50<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>Market insights shared are current as of Tuesday, July 14 at 10:30 am ET.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/el-trafico-la-galaxy-lafc-battle-for-bragging-rights-mls-restart\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Diego Culton<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer One of MLS\u2019s biggest rivalries takes center stage on Friday night, when LA Galaxy host\u00a0LAFC for a highly anticipated El Tr\u00e1fico following the 2026\u00a0FIFA World Cup break. How to watch &#038; stream Apple TV FOX, FOX Deportes When Friday, July 17 | 10:25 pm ET\/7:25 pm PT Where Dignity Health Sports Park | Carson, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":920811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3455,2005,114539],"tags":[6310,114538],"class_list":["post-920810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-galaxy","category-soccer","category-trafico","tag-galaxy","tag-trafico"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/920811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}