Steve Cherundolo says his role is not to motivate Los Angeles FC's players, but the head coach wants to remind his team of their quality before Saturday's MLS clash with Austin FC.

LAFC were 4-2 aggregate winners over Columbus Crew in the last 16 of the Concacaf Champions Cup, though they fell to a 2-1 second-leg defeat on Tuesday.

Cherundolo's side were hammered 5-2 by Seattle Sounders in their last league outing, leaving them fifth in the Western Conference after opening with two wins over Minnesota United and New York City FC.

The LAFC head coach was keen to stress the importance of his side backing their own ability ahead of their fourth MLS outing, the next coming at their BMO Stadium home.

"It is not my job as a coach to motivate the players," Cherundolo said after the second-leg defeat to the Crew.

"They are professional athletes, and motivation has to come from within. I just reminded them why they are good, how we work at LAFC, and what the opponent’s weaknesses were.

"It was about making them recall those things directly at half-time, and we saw a better performance from certain players in the second half. It’s something we will learn from."

Visitors Austin fell to a 1-0 defeat against Colorado Rapids last Sunday – that result left them 10th in the West standings.

They have managed just one goal across their three MLS outings so far, with new signings Brandon Vazquez and Myrto Uzuni yet to find form alongside Osman Bukari in what was expected to be an impressive frontline.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Los Angeles FC – Denis Bouanga

Denis Bouanga (five goals in five games) and Jeremy Ebobisse (six goals in eight games) have combined to score 11 goals in 13 career matches against Austin in all competitions.

Bouanga, in particular, is in fine form this campaign – he scored three goals across the two legs against the Crew in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Austin FC – Brandon Vazquez

Vazquez arrived this year with big expectations from CF Monterrey, though the forward is yet to hit the ground running for Austin.

The 26-year-old had chances in the Rapids defeat, attempting a game-high five shots (level with Uzuni) and enjoying nine touches in the opposition box without finding the net.

MATCH PREDICTION – LOS ANGELES FC WIN

Los Angeles had kept clean sheets in each of their previous four matches in all competitions before the hammering by Sounders, equalling an unwanted club record by shipping five goals in a single match.

However, their strong defence had conceded just four goals across seven games – including last season – before that thrashing, and the hosts will be confident of responding here.

Cherundolo's side are unbeaten in six straight matches against Austin in all competitions (W4 D2), though both regular-season meetings in 2024 ended in draws. Both of Austin's wins against LAFC came in 2022.

A profligate Austin have failed to score in consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since a three-match run in April 2023, and Nico Estevez will be desperate for his side to change their fortunes on Saturday.

Those attacking struggles have seen each of the visitors' three matches end 1-0 (one win, two losses). The last team to have fewer than two combined goals in each of their first four matches of an MLS season was New England Revolution in 2013 (first five).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Los Angeles FC win – 62.5%
Draw – 19.9%
Austin FC win – 17.6%