The overriding feeling for LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney was relief after his team finally got their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake last time out.

The defending MLS Cup champions had previously gone their first 16 games without a win, losing 12 and drawing four. 

That was the longest winless start to a season by any side in MLS history, while their four points from 16 games were also the fewest at that stage in league history.

While they still remain bottom of the Western Conference standings, a clash against fellow strugglers St. Louis City SC offers a chance to build some momentum. 

"Definitely. I mean, it's been hard to come by the first one. Again, I don't think we've played horribly through much of the season; just not been able to turn things into wins," Vanney said.

"You know, the last part of it we went into a little bit of a protect when we for sure got to the two goals and the two guys transformed and did pretty well in that kind of setup.

"I thought tonight we showed a few different things, again, against another team that's up against it a little bit. They haven't gotten a few results, so they're feeling it, too.

"So, it was going to be a battle no matter what. Third game in the week is always a battle.

"Just proud of our guys for staying in it and competing to the end. Game after game, showing up and putting it out there. So they deserve this. This is a hard-fought first win."

For St. Louis, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat under interim head coach David Critchley, going down 2-1 against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. 

After seeing Akil Watts' goal cancelled out by Antony, Critchley turned to his bench to try and freshen things up, introducing several youngsters into the action. 

Brrendan McSorley, Jake Girdwood-Reich, Joey Zalinsky, all of whom are under 23, were all given the chance to showcase their talent for St. Louis on the big stage.

Previous coach Olof Mellberg, who managed over 15 MLS games, played his youngest players just 286 minutes. In two matches, Critchley has used them for 267 minutes. 

"I asked the players to be brave," said Critchley. "I'm going to be brave as a coach. They had good training weeks. They were the profiles of the players I needed. 

"I thought Brendan could get in there and stretch the game, especially in transition. We knew that they were going to go and try for another goal, so Brendan's ability to run in behind for us was going to be something that we looked at.

"JGR, he's a good ball-winner, he's athletic. He can cover space. Joey had a fantastic game against San Jose and could have easily earned the right to start this game as well. 

"I had full trust he was going to come in and defend well, defend off the dribble well, defend 1-v.-1 moments well."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

St. Louis City – Marcel Hartel

Despite failing to score in his last six MLS games, Hartel has been in impressive form for St. Louis, with his display against Portland showcasing his class.

Indeed, he created more chances (three), played more passes in the final third (nine) and produced more crosses (six) than any of his team-mates at Providence Park.

LA Galaxy – Joseph Paintsil

Lucas Sanabria and Paintsil each scored their first goal of the season in the Galaxy's win over Real Salt Lake, though it was the latter who impressed in that game.

Only Gabriel Pec (six) attempted more dribbles than the Ghanaian (four), while his five touches in the box was only bettered by Sanabria (six).

MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN

St. Louis are unbeaten in five all-time meetings with LA Galaxy (W2 D3), including winning the last two in a row. The Galaxy are one of two teams St. Louis has played five times in regular-season play and never lost against (also San Jose Earthquakes).

This weekend's hosts did, however, lose for the ninth time in their last 13 regular-season matches (W1 D3) on Sunday, a 2-1 defeat to Portland. St. Louis' only league win in that time was in their last home match, a 2-1 victory over San Jose on May 31.

LA Galaxy's 16 straight matches without a win to begin the season came to an end with a 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake on May 31. The 16-match winless run equalled the longest by any team within a single season in MLS history (Houston Dynamo in 2021).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

St. Louis City – 42.6%

Draw – 26.7%

LA Galaxy – 30.7%