LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney is doing his best to remain positive despite a difficult season in MLS thus far.

The Galaxy won MLS Cup in 2024, but they are bottom of the Western Conference and still looking for their first win this season.

They have lost 12 and drawn four of their first 16 matches.

“Each one of these games, there are some similarities to it and there’s some differences to it,” said Vanney following their 1-0 defeat at home to San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, as quoted in the Sporting Tribune.

“The similarities I think are the guys come out they fight and they work and they compete. Inside of that you look at the opposition and you go, they are not better than us. It comes down to execution.

“Sometimes we chose ourselves when we needed to choose our team-mate. If we choose our team-mate, I think we have a much better-looking goal. I think that comes down to guys wanting to win so bad, they want to take responsibility.”

The Galaxy have taken just one point from their last seven league games but, despite their awful run, Vanney is not getting hung up on complicated fixes for their form as he looks ahead to this weekend'[s clash with Real Salt Lake.

“I subscribe to the things you can control as much as possible. Which is our performances, our efforts, our execution, ideally the things we can get better at on the training field," he said.

“You hope that inside of being more proactive and being the aggressor in certain situations that you get things to go your way. That wasn’t tonight, and it hasn’t been much of this season.”

Despite their run, the Galaxy have only twice been beaten by a margin of two or more goals this season, most recently getting hammered 7-0 away to the New York Red Bulls.

Aside from that pasting, they have remained competitive in the main and as a result, Vanney is not losing hope of them turning the situation around.

“If I was going out and going, ‘Jesus, we are just getting hammered every game or we are just losing,’ then I would be adapting a lot of things. But it really comes down to execution.

“The moments that we are looking for are there in these last four or five games – take New York out of the equation – the moments are there for us to get results.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

LA Galaxy – Marco Reus 

Reus has three goals in his last three home matches in MLS, including a point-saving brace in a 2-2 draw against LAFC earlier this month.

His six goal involvements (three goals, three assists) are the most of any Galaxy player this campaign, while nobody has created more chances for them (23). 

Real Salt Lake – Diego Luna

Luna has 21 goals and 17 assists since the start of the 2023 MLS season. He is one of 16 players to reach 20 goals and 15 assists over that time and the only American to do so.

From that total, eight goals and two assists have come in the 2025 season, including a goal and two assists in his last two appearances.

MATCH PREDICTION: LA GALAXY WIN

The Galaxy have lost only one of their last 14 home matches against Salt Lake in all competitions (W9 D4) dating back to July 2014. Each of RSL’s last three visits to Dignity Health Sports Park have ended in draws, but the Opta supercomputer is backing LA to finally end their winless streak.

Salt Lake are also winless in six straight matches after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser against Austin FC on Wednesday (D3 L3).

This is RSL’s longest winless run in league play since a 12-match streak that spanned the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The Galaxy have taken two of their four points in their last four home games.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

LA Galaxy – 43.9%

Draw – 26.8%

Real Salt Lake – 29.3%