1. Great rivalry:
The Quakes and Galaxy will renew one of the great rivalries in North American soccer, which has been privy to memorable games, high drama and great players. Much of the focus this week has been on the Galaxy's recent signings, Steven Gerrard, who figures to start on Friday, and Mexican international Giovani dos Santos, who is playing for Mexico in the Gold Cup. Moreover, the Galaxy has been red-hot at home, scoring 14 goals in its past three games at the StubHub Center. So the Quakes (7-7-4, 25 points) will be thrust into a spoiler role, again, in an important Western Conference showdown. The Quakes, who have played three fewer games than LA (8-6-7, 31 points), need to get what they can against LA and when they travel to conference co-leader Vancouver on July 26. San Jose rallied for a 3-1 win over the Galaxy at Stanford Stadium on June 27, when designated player Matias Perez Garcia had perhaps his best game with the Quakes, dishing off two first-class assists. The Quakes also rallied for wins over the Galaxy in 2012 and 2013, both at Stanford. The Galaxy beat the Quakes 1-0 in the U.S. open Cup on July 1, but the Quakes always seem to find an extra gear in the Clasico. San Jose is 1-1-3 in the past five MLS meetings with the Galaxy.LA superstar Robbie Keane, who had a hat trick on July 4 against Toronto FC, has been pretty quiet of late against the Quakes. He has no goals in the teams' last five meetings, after scoring six times in the previous 12 meetings.
2. Set masterpieces:
Dominic Kinnear's teams have long been known for set piece efficiency, and the current squad is becoming increasingly dangerous in that area. Matias Perez Garcia -- and Tommy Thompson when called upon -- has been serving up tasty crosses on corner kicks, and veteran center back Clarence Goodson has been finishing strongly off them of late. Goodson had the winner on a header in the June 27 Clasico, and also scored on a header in a 2-1 loss to Club America on Tuesday in the International Champions Cup. The Quakes could use another big game from Perez Garcia, who has six assists in his last eight MLS matches. Kinnear wisely only played Perez Garcia just 34 minutes against Club America, preserving his most valuable attacking threat in Wondolowski's absence for the Galaxy game. Even in his short stint against America, MPG made an impact. On a set piece, he hit a shot off the near post after curling the ball over the wall. Rookie midfielder Fatai Alashe, a U-23 national team player who could match up against Gerrard, is another scoring threat on set pieces. He causes problems while shadowing the goalkeeper. Mark Sherrod and Amarikwa are looking for their breakthrough goals with the club.
3. Gold Cup absences:
The Quakes and the Galaxy will be missing key components because of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, with LA's Gyasi Zardes, Omar Gonzalez and super-sub Alan Gordon on the U.S. team, along with San Jose's nine-goal scorer and captain Chris Wondolowski. Quakes' midfielder Cordell Cato helped surprising Trinidad and Tobago earn a heartfelt 4-4 draw with Mexico in the Gold Cup, as T&T finished first in its group. LA goalkeeper Jaime Penedo is with Panama in the Gold Cup. The Quakes will continue play in the Champions Cup on Tuesday against Manchester United at Avaya Stadium, when Kinnear will undoubtedly be playing a good chunk of his squad.
