St Louis CITY2 (10-8-8, 43 points) hosts LA Galaxy II (5-15-6, 25 points) on Sunday, September 17, in the team’s final home match of the regular season. The match kicks off at 5:00 p.m. CT and will be streamed on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
When the teams met in California earlier this season, it was Galaxy II who grinded out a win in a low-scoring affair. After a scoreless first half, Los Angeles’ Carson Klein put in the only goal of the game to lock up three points for the home side.
In a similarly low-scoring match last weekend, CITY2 edged out Vancouver Whitecaps 2 with a 1-0 victory. Midfielder Faysal Bettache scored in the 57th minute to put the away side ahead, and then the defense clamped down to put the game out of reach, preventing Vancouver from recording any shots on goal. The match gave CITY2 its fourth straight win and pushed its unbeaten streak to a team-record eight consecutive games (dating back to a 1-1 draw with San Jose Earthquakes II on July 23). With a win against Galaxy II this weekend, CITY2 would clinch its second consecutive postseason berth.
With his goal against Whitecaps 2, Bettache found the back of the net for a third straight match after pouring in a hat-trick against Houston Dynamo 2 the week prior. The in-form midfielder has scored in four of the team’s last five matches, and with his surge in offensive production, Bettache now has ten goal contributions this season (8 goals, 2 assists) to go along with 42 key passes (tenth most in MLS NEXT Pro).
The match against Vancouver also marked the first start for goalkeeper Christian Olivares since returning from injury. Olivares picked up his team-leading third clean sheet of the season in the win.
CITY2 is 5-4-4 (22 points) at home this season and has won their last four matches at CITYPARK. During this four-game home winning streak, CITY2 has scored three or more goals in each outing and outscored their opponents 15-4. With a win, CITY2 could tie the longest home winning streak set by any team in MLS NEXT Pro this season (Austin FC II, Sporting Kansas City II and Tacoma Defiance all tied with five consecutive home wins).
Away from home this season, Galaxy II are 2-9-2 (8 points) with a minus-23 goal difference, but the team won their most recent road match with a commanding 4-0 performance against Houston Dynamo 2.
In their last match, Los Angeles fell 2-1 in a rivalry matchup against LAFC2. Since their 1-0 victory over CITY2 on July 9, the team has gone 2-6-2 (10 points). Galaxy II’s forward Aaron Bibout headlines the offense with his 13 goals this season, tied for sixth most in MLS NEXT Pro. The team has the highest passing percentage in the league (86.8 percent) but has also allowed the most goals in MLS NEXT Pro (68).
