GUATEMALA CITY – The LA Galaxy will be led by associate head coach Dave Sarachan on Wednesday when they close out CONCACAF Champions League group stage Wednesday against Comunicaciones FC.

With the Galaxy having already locked up the top seed in Group D, the team had the luxury of sending Sarachan to Central America while Arena prepares the first team for Sunday’s all-important league clash with Sporting Kansas City.

“I stayed back for the trip in Trinidad and this is an opportunity where we felt it would make more sense for me to be here and for Bruce to stay back with the first group,” Sarachan told LAGalaxy.com. “We just decided to mix it up for this trip. Given all the scenarios at the end of the season, and balancing the importance of both competitions, we made this decision.”

Sarachan last served as Galaxy head coach in 2010 after Bruce Arena picked up an illness during a CONCACAF Champions League match.