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LA Galaxy 2022 Season Preview

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Armchair Analyst's Breakdown

  • Strength: A ton of high-end attacking talent, including a pair of overlapping fullbacks, some DP wingers and one of the best forwards in Concacaf history.
  • Weakness: Will they be able to defend at all? Ship 50+ goals again and they’ll likely miss the playoffs again.

Key Departures

  • Jonathan dos Santos: The Galaxy opened a DP spot to sign Douglas Costa after captain Jonathan dos Santos left. The Mexican international, who has since signed with Liga MX’s Club America, made 103 appearances with the Galaxy. When fit to start most of their games in 2018-19, dos Santos proved to be among the best defensive midfielders in the league, though struggled with injuries during his time in Carson.
  • Sebastian Lletget: Another outgoing midfielder, USMNT mainstay Sebastian Lletget was traded to the New England Revolution this winter. Lletget signed with the Galaxy from England's West Ham United in 2015 and made 158 appearances. He bounced around position to position in recent years, with his flexibility proving useful for the club.

Key Acquisitions

  • Douglas Costa: One of the most exciting dribblers of the last decade, Douglas Costa is exactly what you’d expect in terms of style, quality and confidence of a Brazilian international winger. The 31-year-old joins after a disappointing loan to Gremio from Juventus, but comes with a big pedigree. Costa joined Shakhtar Donestk in 2010 from Gremio. In the next 12 seasons in Ukraine, Italy (Juventus) and Germany (Bayern Munich)? He won league titles in 11 of the seasons.
  • Mark Delgado: Mark Delgado was acquired in a trade from Toronto FC as he reunites with Greg Vanney, his former coach at the Canadian club. It’s easy to forget Delgado is still just 26 years old, given he broke through at Chivas USA as a youngster. He's already accrued 218 MLS appearances, mostly with Toronto, and was a key starter in their best-ever period, including the treble-winning 2017 team.
  • Full roster

Projected Starting XI

LA Galaxy - projected XI

Predictions

  • Charles Boehm: 8th in West
  • Tom Bogert: 10th in West
  • Matt Doyle: 7th in West
  • David Gass: 6th in West
  • Sam Jones: 8th in West
  • Joe Lowery: 7th in West
  • Greg Seltzer: 6th in West
  • Andrew Wiebe: 8th in West