Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake preview: L.A. looks to improve playoff standing

The LA Galaxy will host Real Salt Lake on Saturday and the winner of the match will have sole possession of second place in the MLS Western Conference.

With just three regular season matches remaining, Real Salt Lake currently sits in second place with 52 points, two points ahead of the Galaxy who have 50 points. If Los Angeles was able to win, they would secure three points and jump ahead of Salt Lake with just two matches to play. Both teams are in a search for points to stay ahead of fourth place Seattle who has 49 points. If the Galaxy dropped to fourth place, they would be forced to play in the play-in round while the top three seeds automatically advance to the conference semifinals.

The Galaxy have been playing well recently and are currently riding a seven match unbeaten streak over which they've racked up 17 points. Saturday's match will be the third meeting between the two teams this season. Each team has won one match with Los Angeles taking the last meeting 3-2.

While David Beckham and Landon Donovan are back from injury, the Galaxy will be without center back A.J. DeLaGarza on Saturday. DeLaGarza suffered a knee injury in Los Angeles' last match and is expected to be out for roughly a month.

Saturday's match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on NBC Sports.