Austin FC heads out West to face LAFC on Wednesday night. The match is set for a 9:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. PT kickoff at BMO Stadium.
Austin FC OutlookÂ
Austin returned to action against Nashville SC last Saturday night, and while the match ended in defeat, the Verde & Black found a bright spot in Brandon Vazquez. The forward scored an acrobatic goal in the 76th minute, his second goal in the team’s last two matches.
ATXFC will hope its striker can continue that form as the Club heads to the Golden State to face off against LAFC on Wednesday night. The two met back in March at Q2 Stadium and played to a scoreless draw. Last season, the Verde & Black won both regular season contests against LAFC but fell against them in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Austin remains five points below the playoff line with six games remaining. Wednesday’s showdown offers them the chance to climb within a single game of the postseason places ahead of Vancouver’s visit to Q2 Stadium on Saturday.
LAFC Outlook
LAFC currently sits in sixth place in the Western Conference standings, and has seen its gap to the playoff line shrink as a result of a recent four-match winless run. LAFC is five points above eighth-place Colorado, but the team will know it will need more points over the homestretch if it is to secure an automatic spot in the postseason and avoid the play-in match.
Over the international break, LAFC appointed Xavi Tamarit as its Interim Head Coach. Tamarit led the team to a 1-1 draw against Vancouver, the West’s top team, in his first match in charge last Saturday. LAFC trailed 1-0 to start the second half, but Denis Bouanga quickly found an equalizer.
This season, LAFC has a record of 8W-3L-3D at home. However, Austin has either won or tied on 3 of its last 4 regular season visits to BMO Stadium and will look for a similar result on Wednesday.
