LA Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls: 10 stats that will decide MLS Cup 2024

We’ve got contrasting styles, big-time stars, and two fan bases that are hungry for a bite of the MLS Cup apple, as it were, on a collision course.

Hosting Saturday’s final is the LA Galaxy, who earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, dominated in the first two rounds of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and put together a gusty win over the Seattle Sounders to book a place in MLS Cup. Traveling to Los Angeles are the New York Red Bulls, who finished seventh in the East and became the lowest seed to reach MLS Cup in league history.

To help get you ready for Saturday’s final (4 pm ET | Apple TV – Free; FS1, FOX Deportes; TSN, RDS), we’ve identified 10 key statistics that will tell the story of (and maybe even decide) MLS Cup 2024 presented by Audi.

There are plenty of good attacking teams in MLS: Inter Miami, the Columbus Crew, and LAFC all come to mind. But no team in MLS created better looks than the LA Galaxy in 2024, with their league-leading 57.5 non-penalty xG in the regular season based on FBref’s data.

By adding Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil as Designated Player wingers in the offseason, the Galaxy “put fast receivers along with a good quarterback” in Riqui Puig, as their general manager Will Kuntz put it to Backheeled. Even without Puig, whose torn ACL will keep him out well into 2025, Greg Vanney’s team isn’t short on attacking stars. Paintsil, Pec, Dejan Joveljić, and Marco Reus form a fearsome attacking unit.

The Red Bulls’ defense will have to be as sharp as they’ve been all year to stand up to a high-flying attack.

The Galaxy will attack. We know that, and so do the Red Bulls.

And if you’re Sandro Schwarz, that’s okay. His RBNY squad averaged just 44.5% possession in the regular season, according to FBref. The New York Red Bulls are content to let the opposition take risks with the ball, setting themselves up to win possession in advantageous positions and transition quickly into open space.

If you want to get a feel for how Saturday’s match will unfold, the picture is clear: LA will own the ball, while the Red Bulls set up to capitalize on any sloppy moment coming from their hosts.