The LA Galaxy's Mika Vayrynen (white jersey) in a Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League action against visiting Comunicaciones on August 18, 2015, in Carson, Califotnia, USA. (Photo: German Alegria) 

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala -- Even though the LA Galaxy already has clinched a 2015/16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal berth, Wednesday's Group D finale against host Comunicaciones has seeding ramifications.

If the Major League Soccer side wins, it could finish as the top seed among the eight finalists. A loss, depending on the final result and that other matches, could see the Galaxy drop to eighth seed.

It doesn't appear LA (2W-1D-0L, 7 points) will deploy a first-team lineup against the Guatemalan power (1W-0D-2L, 3 points) at the Estadio Cementos Progreso. In their first meeting on August 18, the Galaxy registered a 5-0 victory with Alan Gordon and Robbie Keane scoring two goals each.

LA faces a must-win situation in its MLS regular-season finale against Sporting Kansas City on Sunday to ensure a second-place finish and home-field advantage in the Western Conference semifinals after dropping a 5-2 home decision to the Portland Timbers last Sunday.

As a result, using reserve players against Comunicaciones “will likely be the case,” head coach Bruce Arena said.

Two years ago the Galaxy learned the hard way not to ignore the final group-stage match as it played at winless Isidro Metapan. LA was in a position to avoid Mexican powerhouses in the quarterfinals, but it suffered a 4-0 setback. Instead of earning one of the top three seeds, the Galaxy was sixth and was eliminated by Club Tijuana in the quarterfinals. 

Arena has decided to stay home and prepare for Sunday as associate head coach Dave Sarachan will run the show here. 

“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 said. “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.”  

Comunicaciones is in third place in the 2015 Guatemalan Apertura with a 7W-2D-5L mark, trailing first-place Xelaju by five points.