Two in-form sides in the Western Conference battle it out as San Jose Earthquakes welcome Colorado Rapids to PayPal Park on Sunday.
This is the second meeting between the sides this season and they will be looking to get one over the other after playing out a 1-1 draw back in July's reverse fixture.
Match preview
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A rejuvenated San Jose Earthquakes side continued their charge for a playoff place as they claimed a 2-1 victory away to LA Galaxy two Saturdays ago.
Following a drab first half, the game sparked into life after the break as Jeremy Ebobisse's opener was cancelled out by Victor Vazquez in the 65th minute before Niko Hamalainen inadvertently turned the ball into his net six minutes later to hand the Quakes all three points.
After a poor 10-week spell where they failed to pick up a win between May 15 and July 25, Matias Jesus Almeyda's men found themselves as low as 11th in the Western Conference table, but their recent upsurge in form has seen them rise to ninth place, just one point adrift of the final playoff spot.
San Jose Earthquakes head into Sunday's game with three wins from their last six games, while they are unbeaten in each of their last 10.
In search of a second consecutive win for the first time since July, the California-based outfit will be going up against an opposing side who they have failed to beat in their last four attempts, losing twice and picking up two draws.
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Colorado Rapids were denied a fourth win on the bounce when they played out a 1-1 draw versus second-place Sporting Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park last Sunday.
With just two points separating the sides in the table, the game which had all the makings of a proper contest lived up to expectations as Johnny Russell netted four minutes before the break to force a share of the spoils between the two equally matched sides after Jonathan Lewis opened the scoring in the 17th minute.
Prior to that, Robin Fraser's side saw off Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy on the road before returning to Dick's Sporting Goods Park to claim a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake.
The Rapids, who have picked up six wins and four draws from their most recent 11 outings, will look to keep the ball rolling and close the gap on league leaders Seattle Sounders who are just four points ahead.
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Team News
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San Jose Earthquakes will once again take to the pitch without Jacob Akanyirige, who continues his long journey back from a severe knee injury he sustained back in September 2020.
He is joined on the club's injury table by goalkeeper Matt Bersano and forward Benjamin Kikanovic, who are presently recuperating from knee and thigh injuries respectively.
Following his side's impressive performance last time out, Almeyda could name an unchanged XI, meaning we could the same attacking quartet of Jeremy Ebobisse, Shea Salinas, Jackson Yueill and Javier Lopez.
Colorado Rapids, on the other hand, remain without the services of Danish midfielder Younes Namli, who picked up an ankle injury in May's 3-2 victory over Minnesota United.
With seven assists under his belt, Jack Price has been one of the standout players for the Rapids and the English midfielder will be one to look out for on Saturday.
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Marcinkowski; Abecasis, Beason, Alanis, Lopez; Judson, Remedi, Lopez, Yueill, Salinas; Ebobisse
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Abubakar, Wilson, Trusty; Galvan, Price, Acosta, Bassett; Barrios, Rubio, Kaye
We say: San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Colorado Rapids
Both sides head into the game in solid form and will be looking to keep the momentum going and strengthen their position in the Western Conference table.
However, San Jose Earthquakes have struggled to get going on home turf and have picked up the second fewest points in the conference with 12 from 10 games.
Meanwhile, with 17 points from 10 games, the visitors are one of the best sides on the road this season, and we anticipate they will maintain their fine away performance by coming away with the win.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a San Jose Earthquakes win with a probability of 44.43%. A win for Colorado Rapids had a probability of 30.68% and a draw had a probability of 24.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a San Jose Earthquakes win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.37%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.15%) and 2-0 (7.3%). The likeliest Colorado Rapids win was 0-1 (7.54%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.74%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 7.5% likelihood.
