The San Jose Earthquakes are back on the road to face the Los Angeles Galaxy this Saturday, May 29 in the first rivalry clash of the season after suffering three losses at PayPal Park.
Midfielder Eduardo ‘Chofis’ Lopez opened up the scoring against Sporting Kansas City to tally his second goal of the season. The Quakes were unable to respond to SKC’s three strikes and fell short at home once again.
San Jose looks to bounce back in the California Clasico without midfielder Jackson Yueill who was called up to play with the United States Men’s National Team in preparation for the Concacaf Nations League Final Four.
Head coach Matias Almedya recognized in a virtual press conference on Wednesday that Galaxy’s style of play is different from San Jose’s.
“We have a different system of play. I don't know if it’s better or worse, but it’s a different system,” said Almeyda. “They have a great coach and they’ve signed dynamic and fast players. They found a system which has allowed them to win, obviously with Chicharito mainly responsible for the goals.”
Marking the 75th regular season meeting between the Quakes and the Galaxy, both teams are looking to win after losing their last matches. San Jose has outscored the LA Galaxy 6-1 during their active three-match unbeaten run (2-0-1) that dates back to Sept. 13, 2020.
Although LA Galaxy lost against the Portland Timbers, the Quakes have to keep an eye on forward Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. Compared to last season, Chicharito has already scored seven goals in the last six games he has started.
“Yeah, Chicharito’s a player that’s played at the highest level – Man United, Real Madrid to name a few,” explained goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski. “He’s going to bring quality, he’s going to have chances, but our goal is to limit them as much as we can.”
The Quakes have fallen from the top of the Western Conference to being three points behind the LA Galaxy (4-2-0) who currently sit in third place. It won’t be easy, but Almeyda has his expectations for the team.
“I really enjoy the week leading up to a derby, just like any derby in the world,” Almeyda added. “We’re trying to enjoy it and we’re going to try to compete toe to toe with the Galaxy.”
Saturday’s match kicks off from Dignity Health Sports Park at 4 p.m. PT and will broadcast nationally on UniMás and TUDN, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
