San Jose Earthquakes are set to host Austin FC at PayPal Park on Sunday in MLS' Western Conference.
The home side are 14th and bottom of the table, while the visitors are third and are hopeful of securing automatic qualification for the MLS Cup playoffs
Match preview
© Reuters
The home side have collected just 10 points from their 14 MLS games this season, and this rate of 0.7 points per game is significantly worse than 2023's record of 1.3.
The Quakes' poor record is made worse considering that Sporting Kansas City and Dallas, the two sides directly above them, have played one and two fewer matches respectively.
San Jose started the season poorly by losing their first four MLS games, and eight of their first nine.
That difficult start was then followed by two wins and a draw, but those positive results did not last as the Quakes have since lost their two most recent matches.
Manager Luchi Gonzalez will hope that his side can avoid a third consecutive defeat, but his team's home record has been underwhelming this season with two wins and four losses in their six MLS fixtures at PayPal Park.
© Reuters
Contrastingly, as part of Gonzalez's first MLS campaign with San Jose his team only lost four times at home in the entirety of the 2023 season.
The Quakes have failed to beat Sunday's opponents in their last seven attempts, but if they are to make a push towards the MLS Cup qualification spots in the second half of the season, then a win this weekend would be a good start.
Austin have comparatively had a much more successful season so far, and are already 12 points clear of their hosts.
In fact, Austin's 22 points means that they average 1.6 points per game, a sizeable improvement on their 2023 MLS campaign record of 1.4.
Manager Josh Wolff was appointed as the club's inaugural head coach in November 2019, and is contracted until the end of the 2025 MLS season.
© Reuters
Wolff's side have won their previous two league fixtures, but despite their strong campaign they have only won once away from home in six attempts, with a victory against eighth-placed Houston Dynamo in late April.
Austin's poor away record in MLS is particularly concerning given that they have only won four times on the road in their previous 28 attempts.
However, their overall form has been better as while they failed to win any of their first five league games, they have since won six of their last eight.
Austin will hope that this form continues on Sunday and that they avoid an upset by overcoming last-placed San Jose.
Team News
© Reuters
San Jose come into the game without goalkeeper James Marcinkowski as he continues to recover from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained last season.
Elsewhere, Daniel Britto is ruled out due to a thigh issue, while Jamar Ricketts will also be absent as a result of a damaged ankle.
As for the visitors, they will have to cope with the absence of midfielder Ethan Finlay, who is expected to be sidelined until early June due to a hamstring injury.
Guilherme Biro is a doubt for Sunday's clash due to a hamstring injury but he is not yet ruled out of the game.
Top scorer Sebastian Driussi has scored five MLS goals this season, and he can be expected to continue in his role behind striker Diego Rubio.
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Costa, Beason, Rodrigues, Akapo; Tsakiris, Gruezo; Pellegrino, Lopez, Espinoza; Ebobisse
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Gallagher, Cascante, Hines-Ike, Kolmanic; Pereira, Ring; Obrian, Driussi, Rigoni; Rubio
We say: San Jose Earthquakes 1-3 Austin FC
Although Austin have a poor away record their form of late has been strong, and this is in contrast to San Jose, who have lost their previous two fixtures.
Additionally, given that no team in either the Western or Eastern Conference has conceded more than the Quakes' 33 goals, it is fair to say that Austin could take advantage of their opponents' defensive vulnerabilities.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
