The San Jose Earthquakes conclude a three-match homestand when they host Minnesota United FC on Tuesday, August 17 at PayPal Park, presented by Clover. Tuesday’s match will be the second meeting between the two clubs in 2021. San Jose and Minnesota played to a 2-2 draw on July 3, initiating an active eight-match unbeaten streak.
Through a stretch of favorable results, MLS Cup Playoffs has become an attainable goal for the Quakes. San Jose earned a point in a scoreless draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Friday night, putting them just two points short of a playoff position in the Western Conference standings. A win over Minnesota United FC on Tuesday could see the Quakes improve to sixth in the standings.
With 15 matches remaining in San Jose’s regular-season schedule, head coach Matias Almeyda says the direction in which Quakes go will be decided in every match up until the conclusion of the regular-season on November 7.
“We will hope for some favorable results,” Almeyda said in a virtual press conference on Friday night. “We have been recovering in terms of football. There was a moment in which the team went through a bad streak and weren’t able to get points, and that set us further back from the playoff spots. We have two tough matches this upcoming week. We are thinking more about the game-to-game, rather than the playoffs. We want to play well and win. Surely up until the last game, it will be decided where and how far we go.”
Minnesota continues their strong showing in 2021, going five matches unbeaten (3-0-2) prior to Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against the LA Galaxy. Minnesota’s unbeaten stretch included shutout victories against Houston Dynamo FC (2-0, Aug. 7) and Seattle Sounders FC (1-0, July 18), giving goalkeeper Tyler Miller six clean sheets on the season.
As a visiting team, MNUFC have shown a different side, yielding a record of 1-3-4 in road matches played to date this season. Beginning Tuesday night at PayPal Park, four of the next five matches for Minnesota will be played on the road. The Loons will look to rebound from Saturday’s loss and remain in playoff contention.
Tuesday’s match will be the ninth meeting between San Jose and the Loons since Minnesota joined MLS in 2017. The Quakes have produced a winning record against Minnesota (4-3-1) but are winless in four-straight matches since their last victory over the Loons in 2018.
Kickoff at PayPal Park is set for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports California Plus, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
