LA Galaxy v Austin FC: Hosts' mindset progressively improving after tough start, says Vanney

Greg Vanney says that the LA Galaxy’s confidence is up after getting their first back-to-back wins of the MLS season ahead of facing Austin FC on Wednesday.

The Galaxy made a poor start to the 2025 season but have managed to improve their record in recent weeks, with victories over the Vancouver Whitecaps and D.C. United, meaning they are not currently the worst side in MLS.

They are still bottom of the Western Conference but are now within touching distance of St. Louis City SC as the Galaxy attempt to continue building their momentum.

And Vanney says the confidence of the group is up after they held out for a much-needed win over D.C.

"The confidence is good," he said. "The spirits are high.

"For a little while now, since coming off the Eastern coast swing, by and large, we've been pleased with a lot of our performances. Sometimes disappointed with the way we've given away certain situations or points.

"So, the emotion comes off the results we're not getting, but our thought process on where we are as a team have progressively been getting better.

"The guys are confident as we're starting to see games out. We held steady [against D.C.], took the three points, and we move onto the next one."

Austin, meanwhile, sit ninth, just inside the playoff places on 27 points. They have won just two of their last 12 matches in MLS, but are winless in their last two without scoring.

Having lost striker Brandon Vazquez to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) prior to their 0-0 draw with the New England Revolution, Myrto Uzuni was moved to central striker.

Though he did not hit the back of the net in that match, head coach Nico Estevez is confident goals will come.

"It's a pity. He had really good chances," Estevez said. "He worked really hard, and he should be the man of the match, making us win.

"But I feel if he continues to have those chances, he will help the team scoring goals."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

LA Galaxy – Marco Reus

Marco Reus has been involved in 11 of the Galaxy’s last 17 goals (five goals, six assists), including scoring the first of two against D.C. United on Saturday.

This is the 15th season of his career in which Reus has been involved in at least 10 goals.

Austin FC – Myrto Uzuni

Austin failed to find the net on Saturday against the New England Revolution despite posting an expected goals (xG) value of 1.9 in the match.

Uzuni contributed 0.8 to that total, having a joint-team-high three shots, though he only managed one attempt on target despite having two big chances.

MATCH PREDICTION: LA GALAXY WIN

The LA Galaxy have won all four of their home matches against Austin, scoring multiple goals in all four victories. The only road win in the nine-match history between the sides was a 1-0 Galaxy win in Austin in May 2022.

The LA Galaxy has collected 11 points over their last five matches, including securing back-to-back wins for the first time this season. After setting an MLS record for the fewest points through 16 matches of a season (four), the Galaxy are no longer bottom in MLS (CF Montreal).

Meanwhile, Austin are winless in the 27 straight road matches in which they have conceded a goal (D7 L20). The Verde have not won an away match in which they allowed a goal in over two years (4-1 win at Minnesota United in July 2023).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

LA Galaxy – 45.9%

Draw – 26.7%

Austin FC – 27.4%