El Trafico no laughing matter

El Trafico no laughing matter

By Mark Gleeson

Anybody who has ever been stuck in rush hour on the highways of Los Angeles will understand why the weekend’s derby in the city of angels is called ‘El Trafico’.

It is a humorous play on the ‘clasicos’ of European football but the clash between Los Angeles FC and LA Galaxy is serious business.

LAFC are going for broke this season in Major League Soccer as the acquisition of both Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini attests. They have a clear five-point lead in the Western Conference but came unstick on Sunday away at Vancouver Whitecaps, losing 1-0.

Their last defeat before that was at the hands of Galaxy, at the end of May, when the two clubs met in the US Open Cup and it will give Galaxy hopes of an upset on Friday night.

In the Eastern Conference the lead has been changing furiously over the last weeks. Champions New York City held the upper hand initially but were usurped by Philadelphia Union, who then in turn were overtaken by Montreal.

Now it is New York Red Bull at the top of the table, although their stay at the top could be short lived. They have a tough trip to Cincinnati on Saturday night and are, by no means, guaranteed any points there.

Brazil’s top teams might all be showing signs of fatigue after a second round of midweek clashes in the two continental club competitions – the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana.

The top nine are all involved in cup ties and must then quickly switch focus back to the Brazilian league where Palmeiras hold a three-point lead, going into a full set of weekend fixtures.

They go to bottom placed Fortaleza on Sunday, which is not as easy as it might look.

Athletico Paranaense and Atletico Mineiro are the two sides in joint second place.

Athletico Paranaense scored an upset 2-0 win at Palmeiras on Sunday and are still to debut Fernandinho in the midfield after his move from Manchester City. That could happen at Goias on Saturday in a tough trip.

Atletico Mineiro are the reigning Brazilian champions and host Sao Paulo in Belo Horizonte on Sunday in a potentially bruising tie.

Corinthians slipped from second to fourth after a humiliating 4-0 loss at Fluminense at the weekend and now face another giant in Flamengo, who look to have turned the corner after their poor start to the season.