4 p.m. vs. LA Galaxy • ESPN, 1500-AM
Zlatan thinks it's all about him
Preview: United (11-18-3, ninth in the Western Conference) is out of playoff contention, but LA (12-11-9, seventh in the West) is just one spot out and needs to win to keep its postseason hopes alive. While the Loons have planned for a while to make this game its attendance record, LA star Zlatan Ibrahimovic told reporters earlier this week it was all about him. He confirmed he'll buck the trend of big-name players sitting out away games on turf fields in order to help his team make the playoffs. "I owe them to come. Obviously, they don't have this crowd every home game, so I'm sure they're not coming for Minnesota. So, I come and I make them enjoy," he said. United coach Adrian Heath said Ibrahimovic's comments didn't surprise him, as the "really, supremely confident guy" has more than 500 goals to back up his quotes. But his players were less amused. "I don't care about that guy" is how captain Francisco Calvo put it. He even went so far as to say, "If we don't go to playoffs, they don't go into playoffs, either."
Quotable: "I just hope that we can give 50,000 people a performance that warrants that support. … It's a big game for us this weekend, not only because live TV around the country, the fact that it's the Galaxy as well, the fact that Zlatan will almost certainly play, I think, because they have to win this game. … It's a huge game for them, too. I just hope we can go out with a high at home." — Heath.
Numbers: Ibrahimovic's 21 goals this season rank second in the league.
Injuries: United G Bobby Shuttleworth (back) is out while F Abu Danladi (hamstring) and M Romario Ibarra (hamstring) are questionable; M Harrison Heath, M Alexi Gomez and goalkeeping coach John Pascarella are suspended for their parts in a fight during last weekend's game. LA F Giovani dos Santos (undisclosed) is out.
Megan Ryan
