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Inconsistent Galaxy face unbeaten Real Salt Lake

LA Galaxy defender Daniel Steres, right, and Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi in action during a game on April 10.

LA Galaxy defender Daniel Steres, right, and Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi in action during a game on April 10.

(Ringo H.W. Chiu / AP)
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By their own admission, the Galaxy haven’t played anything close to a complete game this season.

They couldn’t beat a 10-man team in Vancouver, settling for a draw. They needed a late own goal to tie Portland in their last game at home. And they lost in Colorado on the final shot of the game, which came more than five minutes into stoppage time.

Yet despite all that, seven weeks into the Major League Soccer season, only one team has lost fewer games. And that’s the one the Galaxy play Saturday when unbeaten Real Salt Lake visits the StubHub Center.

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“We’ve managed to keep our heads above water,” Coach Bruce Arena said. “So it’s a decent start for us.”

It’s been more than that, actually. Despite a merciless series of injuries that has sidelined nine of the Galaxy’s 11 starters for at least one game, the team is third in the league in goals scored (12) and first in fewest goals allowed (five).

“That’s a positive to take out of it,” said defender A.J. DeLaGarza, who missed three games because of a foot injury. “But we know we can play a lot better.”

Because though the Galaxy (3-1-2) have been shut out twice this season, they’ve also scored three or more goals in a game three times.

“It’s been pretty inconsistent,” DeLaGarza conceded. “We have good days, we have bad days.”

Blame some of that on the injuries. First-choice goalkeeper Dan Kennedy has played less than 20 minutes this spring and the team’s three designated players — Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and Gio dos Santos — have played only one half together.

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Dos Santos and Gerrard have both returned to the lineup and right back Robbie Rogers, who missed last week’s game with a hip contusion, is expected to be available Saturday. But Keane and center back Leonardo remain sidelined following minor knee surgeries and midfielder Nigel de Jong is suspended for the next two weeks for an “egregious and reckless” challenge against Portland’s Darlington Nagbe.

That has forced the Galaxy to rely on their bench, which has responded. Former UCLA keeper Brian Rowe, who stepped in for Kennedy, has the highest save percentage and second-lowest goals-against average of any goalie in the league, and rookie defender Daniel Steres is the only man who has played every minute of the first six games.

“We’re deep at every position,” Dos Santos said. “From the start the competition on the team has been really good.”

A couple of streaks will be on the line Saturday: Real Salt Lake (4-0-2) is riding a six-game unbeaten skein, and the Galaxy has lost only one regular-season game at home since June. Two players who can give the Galaxy problems are forward Joao Plata, whose three road goals are tied for best in MLS, and Nick Rimando, another former UCLA keeper who hasn’t given up a score in more than a month.

“We’re facing the best team in the league,” DeLaGarza said. “It’s always a physical match with them. It’s a rivalry.”

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

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