Coming off an impressive 2-1 road win in Toronto last weekend, the San Jose Earthquakes will look to do something they haven’t done since August of 2015 – win back-to-back road matches.
If history is bound to repeat itself, the Quakes will be looking to exploit the fact that the accomplishment nearly four years ago also included a win in the nation’s capital. Fans will surely remember the 5-0 blasting of Sporting KC and 2-0 victory over D.C. United as part of four consecutive shutout victories soon after the acquisition of Anibal Godoy in 2015.
D.C. United, the Eastern Conference’s top team with 26 points, enters Saturday in the midst of a four-match winless streak, their longest since May 26 – July 7, 2018. After starting the season 7-3-2 and asserting themselves as MLS Cup contenders, some mixed recent form has seen them go 0-1-3 in their last four. It should be noted, however, that three of the four matches came away from home. Regardless, their most recent 3-3 home draw against Chicago certainly left them feeling disappointed, especially having conceded the equalizer in stoppage time.
D.C. United is without question one of Major League Soccer’s most talented teams. Led by Wayne Rooney, Luciano Acosta and Paul Arriola, D.C. is capable of scoring on anyone at any time. Despite that fact, D.C. is averaging 1.38 goals per game while San Jose averages 1.54. To the surprise of many, United have made their money on the defensive side of the ball, averaging just 1.06 goals conceded per game, third best in MLS (LAFC – 0.73; ATL – 0.79).
Earning points won’t come easy for San Jose without Cristian Espinoza and Tommy Thompson, who are both out due to yellow card accumulation. Espinoza was crucial to both of the Quakes’ goals last Saturday and the team struggled to replace him in a 3-1 loss to New England earlier this month.
The match kicks off at 5 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
