WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: LAFC
Never Tell Me The Odds!
Welcome back to What You Need To Know, a match preview for Austin FC fans to check in on their next opponent.
Austin FC midfielder Facundo Torres. Photo courtesy of Dante Valencia.
Opponent: LAFC
Kick Off time: 7:55 PM US Central Time
Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX
History vs. Austin FC:
Austin are 4-2-5 (W-D-L) against LAFC in MLS regular season, including beating them in both matches last season (1-0 wins in LA on 3/15 and in Austin on 10/14). Unfortunately in the playoffs LAFC eliminated Austin in the Best of 3 format by winning the first two match ups.
Recent Matches:
LAFC is a perfect 4-0-0 on the season and is 3-1-0 in their four CONCACAF Champions’ Cup matches, including a 2-1 win on Tuesday thanks to this David Martinez strike.
Players to Watch:
Denis Bouanga: Yes, stupid sexy Bouanga is still at LAFC despite multiple offers this offseason, including from Inter Miami. He’s scored 20+ goals in each of his three full seasons in LA, and if he chooses to stay in MLS could get into the Top 10 in all-time scoring in the next few years.
Son Heung-min: The South Korean superstar is back and still combining with the rest of the LAFC attack in quick counters and scoring goals. He’s doing his best to make sure this isn’t a “retirement” run and sitting out matches or getting subbed out regularly. His commitment to LAFC is laudable, albeit annoying for us.
Marky Delgado: The midfielder came to LAFC before the 2025 season after helping cross-town rival LA Galaxy win the 2024 MLS Cup. He’s there to bring stability to their midfield and progress the ball from defense into attack. The best way to stop LAFC’s attack is to keep Delgado from getting them the ball.
Keys to the Match:
Austin FC’s Biggest Rival: And by “Biggest Rival,” of course, I am referring to being able to score goals. Austin is yet again toward the bottom of almost every offensive stat that is measured (which Phil West at Verde All Day was kind enough to talk about this week), including “goals scored with feet,” where Austin, through four games, has 0. Club record signing Myrto Uzuni has 0 intentional goals so far this season and has yet to link up with new signings Jayden Nelson and Facundo Torres.
Most of 2025 was spent with fans worrying they would set new records of offensive anemia after spending $30 Million on Designated Players, and it appears 2026 is much of the same. The hope is that once Owen Wolff, Brandon Vazquez, Dani Pereira, and Mikkel Desler are healthy, it’ll make Austin FC a competent attacking side, but for a team on a two-game losing streak and set to face two MLS Cup favorites next, it doesn’t look like they’ll be here soon enough to get needed results.
Changes up top: LAFC has a new coach, Marc Dos Santos, after four seasons of success under Steve Cherundolo (Winning 54% of matches, MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield in 2022, and a US Open Cup in 2024). Dos Santos previously coached the Vancouver Whitecaps for four seasons before being fired for losing to Pacific FC in the Canadian Championship and moving to LAFC as an assistant.
The biggest change he’s made is how LAFC sets up to get an additional player to join the attack along with Bouanga and Son. Under Cherundolo and early this season, they’d line up with Son and Bouanga as strikers and then have a midfielder (Timothy Tillman, Mathieu Choiniere) or winger (Nathan Ordaz) join them. Recently, under Dos Santos, he’s flipped that, utilizing Ordaz as a striker with Bouanga and Son playing beneath him, allowing them space to run at defenders and force the opposing midfield to stay deep.
Prediction: Austin FC 0 - LAFC 3
WRITTEN BY: SCOTT SPECHT
