San Diego FC hosts alternate LAFC squad
Credit: Cedric Jones/ EVT Sports
San Diego FC lost its last game against Portland Timbers and is now on a five-game losing streak. However, there is some slimmer of hope in the upcoming game against LAFC.
SDFC will host the Los Angeles team at Snapdragon Stadium for a game in the 2026 MLS regular season this Saturday, May 2. LAFC is still participating in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and has a crucial semifinal away game against Toluca on May 6.
Los Angeles manager Marc Dos Santos has already confirmed that he will rotate the squad against San Diego. “We need to rest everyone and be ready for Toluca, because the game in Toluca will require a maximum physical effort,”said Dos Santos.
Via @TJ_SportsMX @pasefiltrado LAFC manager Marc Dos Santos says that he will field an alternate squad against #SDFC due to a semifinal match vs. Toluca on Wednesday. Don’t expect Heung-min Son to start or even play tomorrow. Even tells Varas to not worry. pic.twitter.com/SZeWVtIdaD
— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) May 2, 2026
In his statement, Dos Santos even tells Mikey Varas to not worry as their will be squad rotations. Dos Santos was not obliged to share this information as this demonstrates the Canadian manager’s confidence heading into this match.
Players like Heung-min Son, Timothy Tillman, Jacob Shaffelburg and Aaron Long are unlikely to feature in this match. It will be interesting to see if Dos Santos does a full squad rotation as he did say that “everyone” needs to rest.
The fact that there are confirmed squad rotations is already a huge advantage for SDFC heading into this match. The Azul and Chrome side desperately needs a momentum shift as soon as possible, given the current lackluster form.
The Southern California side is living its lowest point since its inception on that five-game losing streak and eight-game winless streak.
San Diego FC did get the better of LAFC both times that these teams faced each other last year. However, SDFC was never in a slump like this in these matches.
The offense was simply not clinical enough for Mikey Varas against Portland to warrant any positive result from that game. Anders Dreyer has really entered a cold spell with just two goals from the penalty spot in his last five games.
While it is a positive for Dreyer to score, it is a bit concerning that he has been unable to do it from open play in five consecutive games.
San Diego’s depth has also been exposed in recent games with the bench not providing much impact for Varas. Jeppe Tverskov picked up an injury against Portland and will be unavailable in this game against Los Angeles.
There is no direct replacement for Tverkov in the midfield as no player off the bench has his skill set to fill that position. All the possible replacements lack the defensive prowess and pass quality that Tverskov provides.
Anibal Godoy will have to work extremely hard in this match with Tverskov out. Even facing an alternate LAFC squad this might prove to be a challenging task for this midfield without its leader.
San Diego should be the favorites in this match, but given the current run of form from SDFC it is hard to say if that is the case. LAFC is still one of the best managed teams in MLS that has the ability and depth to compete against any MLS team even with some squad rotations.
Francisco, 28, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego FC, San Diego Wave. I have covered Liga MX, MLS, Mexico National Team, USWNT, Copa América and European clubs like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.