BY ADAM SERRANO
The Los Angeles Galaxy will look to continue their hopes of the Supporters Shield on the road against the Philadelphia Union tonight. (ESPN2, 5:00PM)
The Galaxy sit two points ahead of the hard charging Real Salt Lake for the trophy. Head Coach Bruce Arena will be eager to set his line up for the playoffs as the club arrives in Philadelphia nearly at full strength. The trip to the East against the Union is the Galaxy's last road trip of the season as the club will finish their season with a pair of matches at home. Philadelphia was eliminated from postseason contention with last week's draw against the Houston Dynamo, but will now have a chance to play the role of spoiler.
The Union are led by MVP candidate Sebastien Le Toux who has 13 goals for the expansion side. Le Toux will provide a stiff test for the defensive tandem of Omar Gonzalez and AJ DeLaGarza. The diminutive DeLaGarza put in a fine performance shutting down Chivas USA forwards Alan Gordon and Justin Braun in the Galaxy's 2-1 victory in the Superclasico, but will face a new challenge in Le Toux.
Resigned to the spoiler role no that the playoffs are out of the picture for the Union, Peter Nowak's men will look to finish the season strong. After starting of the season poorly, the Union have enjoyed a run of positive form over the past month that could see them become a dangerous spoiler for the Galaxy.Philadelphia's defense has had trouble in containing speedy attackers in the past and face a stiff test from Landon Donovan and the reinvigorated Michael Stephens in the midfield.
Perhaps what is most important for the Union in the inaugural campaign has been their ability to turn PPL Park into something of a fortress. Philadelphia has only two losses in their eleven matches played at the stadium in Chester. With a firey crowd that has drawn some scrutiny from the league as of late, opponents are beginning to dread facing the Union at home. With a Supporters Shield on the line, Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant admitted after the Galaxy's victory over Chivas USA that the Galaxy will face a major test in Philadelphia.
"Le Toux is having a great season and they have a number of players like Alejandro Moreno who are dangerous and can hurt you," said Dunivant. "They're good at home too and have a very rowdy crowd."
Expect the Union to hang tough with Los Angeles, but the Galaxy will be too much for Philadelphia to handle tonight in a 2-1 victory.
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Will the Galaxy come out on top? Will the Union play spoiler?
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