A week after becoming the first MLS team to hold an opponent to zero shot attempts and lose, the LA Galaxy face an MLS Cup rematch against the New York Red Bulls without any part of a history-making quartet that helped LA to its sixth title.
After both Gabriel Pec (hip) and Joseph Paintsill (thigh) departed Sunday's 1-0 loss at Sporting Kansas City with injuries during the second half, neither will be available for Saturday night's title game rematch, according to the MLS Player Status Report for Matchday 12. That means the Galaxy will face the Red Bulls with zero of the four players who in 2024 became the first MLS four players on the same team to reach double-digit goals in the same season.
Riqui Puig is still months away from his return from a torn ACL suffered in the 2024 Western Conference final. Dejan Joveljic was traded to Sporting Kansas City in the offseason as a roster-rule casualty.
The Red Bulls won't shed too many tears. They've also been considerably shorthanded for a while, particularly by Scottish winger Lewis Morgan's extended absence with a knee problem.
Duane Holmes nears debut
U.S. men's national team pool player Duane Holmes (broken leg) is getting closer to making his Houston Dynamo debut after recovering from an injury that occurred just before his transfer from Preston North End of the EFL Championship.
Holmes has been upgraded to questionable on the report for the first time since officially joining the Dynamo roster in March. His last competitive minutes came on Feb. 11, when he started for Preston in a league match at Norwich City and was forced off after 21 minutes.
Houston faces the Seattle Sounders at home in a rematch of a 0-0 draw in Seattle on March 22.
Blake questionable again for Union
Three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake is questionable for Saturday's top-of-the-East home clash against the Columbus Crew with a knee issue.
Blake combatted minor injury issues throughout the 2024 campaign and has missed two of Philadelphi's 11 league fixtures this season. But he played all 90 minutes in the Union's 2-1 win at CF Montreal last Saturday.
The Union enter Saturday's encounter in second place in the Eastern Conference with 22 points, two points back of Columbus.