Up next for Galaxy: Thursday vs. Vancouver

GALAXY VS. VANCOUVER

When: 7:30.

Where: Home Depot Center.

On the air: TV: NBC Sports Network, Univision Deportes; Radio: 1330.

Records: Galaxy 16-12-6, Vancouver 11-13-10.

Record vs. Whitecaps: 2-0-1.

Update: The winner of this knockout game faces San Jose. This will be the first playoff game in Major League Soccer’s 17-year history to involve a team based outside the U.S. But Vancouver’s historic ride may not last long, with the Whitecaps stumbling into the playoffs, having won once in their last 10 games and only three times since July 5. Vancouver, a second-year expansion team, has never beaten the Galaxy, and in four of those five games the Whitecaps didn’t even score. Key for the Galaxy will be the fitness of captain Landon Donovan, who has been hobbled because of a bad knee, and midfielder David Beckham, who is fighting a sprained ankle.

—Kevin Baxter