Charlotte FC vs LA Galaxy: Odds, Spread, and Total
Charlotte FC, like its Major League Soccer rival New York City FC, had to come from behind to earn an opening-round draw against a club that was the dregs of…
Charlotte FC, like its Major League Soccer rival New York City FC, had to come from behind to earn an opening-round draw against a club that was the dregs of a conference last year. Charlotte will try to improve on a 1-1 debut with a win over the host LA Galaxy on Saturday night at 10:30 p.m. EST.
It was the LA Galaxy that stunned NYCFC in each club's season opener in SoCal, scoring on a tally from Joao Klauss in only the second minute. It didn't go so well for Los Angeles after that as the Galaxy went down a player in the 65th minute, leading to a half that New York dominated while only tallying one goal.
The Crown was outshot by the Archies of St. Louis City SC 8-3 in on-target strikes. On the bright side, Charlotte owns a separate four-game unbeaten streak that's relevant to Saturday night, having flourished against the LA Galaxy in the 2020s. Handicappers are concerned about the travel mileage for the Crown, who are decisive money line underdogs against LA's one-to-one odds to get three points. That's despite LA counting on young back-liners like Julian Aude to pick up the slack with Garces suspended for a game.
Charlotte FC vs LA Galaxy Betting Trends
- Charlotte is unbeaten in its last four against the LA Galaxy.
- The Crown has just two regulation wins in its last eight matches.
- The Galaxy is unbeaten in four games across all competitions.
Charlotte FC vs LA Galaxy Injury Reports
Charlotte FC
- None
LA Galaxy
- Midfielder Ricard Puig is out with a knee injury.
Charlotte FC vs LA Galaxy Predictions and Picks
MLS awards arbiters had to give Charlotte a left-handed compliment this week, naming goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina the Man of the Match for Charlotte FC in the draw with St. Louis. It's nice that Kahlina has the recognition, even touted as a potential FIFA roster addition by The Croatian on X: "Should Kahlina be part of Croatia's World Cup squad?" But it's also a weird letdown to have needed the keeper to play a terrific game just to tie with St. Louis, a team that has fallen off dramatically in the last two years.
Reasonably high O/U markets for Sunday's match imply that there won't be another keeper's duel this time. It's simply hard for bettors to guess who's going to do the scoring, leading to few optimistic goalscoring prop-bet odds. The Crown's Wilfried Zaha has attractive (+165) odds to tally.
If you're looking for a pick on the whole match's proceedings, look at Charlotte's subdued betting price to score the first goal on Sunday, compared to LA's inflated betting price in the same market. Gambling action is influenced by how each team began its first bout. It may have been only a coincidence.
