LA Galaxy fans should cheer on these two Western Conference foes this week

The Los Angeles Galaxy are done playing the rest of August. Their next game is not until Sunday, September 1st. In the meantime, their crosstown rival has a pair of contests that could shift the scope of the top two seeds in the Western Conference.

As of today, the LA Galaxy sit in first with 52 points (15-7-5). They have played three more games than LAFC who currently has 47 points (14-5-5).

Third-place Real Salt Lake dropped a game over the weekend to the lowly San Jose Earthquakes. That defeat puts them eight points behind first-place, LA Galaxy.

LAFC also took a hit over the weekend themselves. They lost a 3-1 bout against MLS's defending champions in the Leagues Cup Finals. As the game was tied 1-1, it was Cucho Hernandez and Jacen Russell-Rowe who scored late in stoppage time.

What's this mean for the Los Angeles Galaxy?

It is possible that LAFC takes over first place before the LA Galaxy even takes the field on the first day of the new month. If their rivals were to be victorious against their next two opponents, that would give them six more points.

That would cause the two Los Angeles teams to swap places in the Western Conference Standings. Furthermore, it puts further pressure on the LA Galaxy to win on Sunday against the lowly St. Louis City FC squad.

Thus, LA Galaxy fans should be cheering for Seattle to win (or tie) on Wednesday when they host LAFC. They should also be doing the same for their other opponent, the Houston Dynamo.

In fact, Galaxy fans would be wise to support Houston again on Saturday, September 7th when LAFC will have a rematch against the same foe. The Los Angeles Galaxy do not play during that week.

The LA Galaxy will have two weeks off between Sunday's game in St. Louis and the rematch against LAFC on Saturday, September 14 at Dignity Health Sports Park. The Galaxy have yet to lose a single game there this season during the MLS regular season.

In other words, if the Los Angeles Galaxy lose or tie against St. Louis City FC, they could be heading into the LAFC rematch in the middle of September down by as many as three or four points in the standings.

The gaps in regular season games for the LA Galaxy should give them a chance to continue working in new addition Marco Reus into the lineup. The Galaxy have also been without their leading scorer Dejan Joveljic since the first week of July.

So for now, as we continue to support the Los Angeles Galaxy, it wouldn't hurt to hope for some success for both Seattle and Houston in the next two weeks. It could mean the difference of first or second place for the Galaxy in the Western Conference standings.