San Joe Earthquakes and LA Galaxy meet in not only the conference matchup but the state of California clash. While the hosts currently sit in the upper part of the standings, and are in the playoff zone, the Galaxy experiences a nightmare. The team from LA is second to the last in the West, having miserable 15 points in 18 appearances. That makes them a perfect rival for the hosts, who need three points to stay in the playoff area. However, the visitors from LA won’t give up easily.
Preview
San Jose Earthquakes (+100) haven’t won in the previous three events, posting a draw at home against Portland Timbers, 0-0, and then losing to Dynamo in Houston 4-1, and St. Louis, at home, 1-2. These losses have put solid pressure on the team and the head coach Luchi Gonzales.
The Quakes have two points more than the teams in the play-in zone, which makes them and the fans uncomfortable, generating the pressure we’ve mentioned above.
They are the second-best host in the conference, with six wins, three draws, and one defeat, 14-7 goal difference in 10 events. Six of the last seven meetings at PayPal Park have seen 2 or 3 goals, while five of those matches ended with both teams netting.
LA Galaxy (+225) recorded three draws in a row. The first was in St. Louis against the conference leaders, 1-1, then at home to Sporting Kansas City, 2-2, and eventually in Colorado against the Rapids, where the fans went back home without witnessing a single goal.
The injuries are very problematic for the guests, whose top start, Chicharito, is out due to an ACL injury and who won’t play for a long time. So, it isn’t odd to see the Galaxy struggling with scoring, hitting the back of the rival’s net only 16 times in 18 MLS games.
Their road performances are terrible, and in 10 outings, this unit has only one victory, adding four draws and five defeats, with five goals scored and 16 allowed. Their chemistry is bad, not just on the road but in general, and there will be plenty of work for Greg Vanney.
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Michale Baldisimo and Nathan Cardoso are unavailable for the Quakes due to their respective injuries.
The veteran Martin Caceres is out for the season, which is another blow apart from Chicharito’s absence, Sega Coulibaly and Memo Rodriguez are also ineligible.
Head to Head Games
The first meeting of the year was in LA, where the hosts posted a 2-1 win. Dejan Joveljic and Martin Caceres scored a goal each for the home team, while Bouda netted for the Quakes.
Also, the last five direct encounters all saw both teams score and over 2.5 goals.
Prediction
San Jose has a nice chance to win and take all three points against a shaky and very unstable guest. We recommend betting on San Jose’s victory, which is currently priced at +100, and that’s something we didn’t expect to see. To be honest, we’ve thought that it would be far less profitable.
Pick: San Jose Earthquakes +100
More MLS previews:
- Minnesota United vs. Portland Timbers
- St. Louis City vs. Colorado Rapids
- Columbus Crew vs. New York Red Bulls
- CF Montreal vs. New York City FC
- Inter Miami vs. Austin FC
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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