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Chivas USA-Galaxy Preview

Nov 7, 2009 - 9:50 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Chivas USA (13-11-6) at Los Angeles (12-6-12), 7:30 p.m. EDT

The venue will be the same, but the Los Angeles Galaxy believe things will look a lot different this Sunday at the Home Depot Center.

The Galaxy and Chivas USA will play the second leg of their Western Conference semifinal series after a sloppy draw last weekend.

This is the first time there has been a playoff edition of the SuperClasico between these Home Depot Center co-tenants. Chivas USA was the "home" team last weekend as the teams finished tied at 2.

"We just start over," Galaxy star Landon Donovan said. "This game means nothing, no away-goals rule. We like our odds, we like our chances and we're going to go for it."

A fresh start could be what both teams need after turning in some poor play last Sunday. Donovan and Mike Magee both scored for Los Angeles on goals that were a direct results of misplays by Chivas.

Chivas also scored the final goal of the match in the 46th minute when an ill-advised back pass from Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez went right to Chivas forward Maykel Galindo, who was able to easily beat Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

"It's entertaining for the public, it's not so entertaining for the managers and the players when mistakes happen and you don't play as well as you can," David Beckham said. "But that's life."

Los Angeles could be facing a distraction since the club announced earlier in the week that Beckham will be headed to Italy to play for AC Milan on loan again. The England midfielder played for Milan for six months in the first half of the year, missing some action for the Galaxy.

"I'm committed to LA Galaxy and MLS in the long term and remain as passionate as ever about growing the game of soccer in America," Beckham said. "I'm completely focused on ending this season on a high note with my club by winning the MLS Cup."

The Galaxy are looking forward to seeing more of their gold and blue on Sunday in the stands after seeing plenty of Chivas' red and white last weekend among the 25,218 fans.

"We're going to have all the fans in our favor instead of theirs," Magee said. "You can probably double the anticipation. It was a two-game series, now it's one."

Chivas failed to score in three regular-season matches against its archrival, and is excited about getting two goals in the first leg. Maicon Santos scored the first goal of last week's match.

"It's pretty typical of a Clasico," Chivas defender Carey Talley said. "Who knows what's going to happen, and both teams are fighting incredibly hard and have great fan support on both sides."

Chivas has lost three times and drawn four in its last seven matches against the Galaxy since Sept. 13, 2007. Los Angeles is unbeaten in its last five MLS Cup matches.

The winner will meet Houston or Seattle in the conference championship.