Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy have elected to look at their upcoming match against Martin Vasquez's Chivas USA from an MLS Cup Playoffs standpoint this week.

“In all honesty,” Galaxy midfielder Eddie Lewis said earlier this week, “we’re probably viewing the game more on our own terms, in terms of the fact we want to be able to finish the regular season in strong form. I think Chivas’ destiny has sort of been in their own hands all season and I think that will take care of itself."

That's not to say that it won't be a physical contest between both Home Depot Center tenants.

"I do envision it to be a chippy affair," Lewis said, "probably at times borderline hostile. Given the natural history and rivalry that exists, I think the fact that both teams are at kind of opposite ends of the spectrum at the moment is going to make it a difficult match on the field, but with quite a bit going off the ball.”

For the players, getting over their 2-0 defeat to the New York Red Bulls took its time to process.

“Sunday night wasn’t easy,” said forward Edson Buddle, who continues to lead Major League Soccer in goals scored with 14 this season. “I’ve learned over the years just to let it go and learn from the loss.”

“Any way you look at it last weekend is going to be difficult to swallow,” Lewis added. “We were looking at some things as well as dealing with a few other issues,” he said. “There were kind of tough circumstances for us and it kind of played out that way, which was unfortunate. Regardless, this is a different setup and everybody’s available."

“I think you’ll see a much-improved team this weekend.”

The return of defender Omar Gonzalez from suspension will be a welcome sight for a team that clearly missed his presence in the back line.

As for Arena, the potential MLS Supporters' Shield impact is apparent, but not the MLS Cup Playoffs impact.

“I don’t even know that’s a fact,” Arena said. “I don’t even care.”

But the Los Angeles manager was quick to point out the energy that will come from the clubs' bastions of supporters.

“I think this game is a big game for the supporters of both teams,” Arena added “They like these games. I’m not saying that the players don’t, so it makes for a good competition and certainly a game we feel we need to win.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PT and will be televised by ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

INS & OUTS

Could the USA be calling it a campaign for 2018?

There is a possibility that the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be hosted somewhere in Europe. But the 2022 bid could be in the balance for the USA.

"Our confidence level remains the same following the conclusion of our FIFA inspection visit, primarily because we expected our facilities (arguably one of our bid's strongest features) to be well-received, and indeed they were," said David Downs, executive director of the USA's bid committee. "Because we were the eighth of nine bidders to be visited by FIFA, we did pay close attention to reports of the earlier visits. But we were not so much looking at the evaluations of each bidder's facilities but instead how certain aspects of their tours were handled from a logistics and protocol perspective.

"We also asked FIFA for feedback on what to do and not to do, as well as appropriate timings for individual segments of our visit."

Convincing 13 of the 24 FIFA Executive Committee members will be a tough task, but not an impossible one.

"One of their observations, although not really a formal part of their evaluation of our facilities, was that there is still a perception beyond our borders that the sport did not change greatly in the United States as a result of the 1994 World Cup,” Downs said. “As you know, nothing could be further from the truth.

"But clearly we have to do a better job explaining those things, and also how those enormous gains benefit the sport throughout the CONCACAF region and even the rest of the world," he added. "We strongly believe a World Cup here in 2018 or 2022 would drive the global soccer economy to even greater heights, but we must convince others of that."

The final decision will take place in a little over two months' time.

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