San Jose Earthquakes vs Real Salt Lake

PayPal Park is the venue as San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake go head-to-head in an exciting Major League Soccer encounter.

Since a narrow 1-0 triumph at Vancouver Whitecaps toward the end of August, San Jose Earthquakes have gone winless in four consecutive MLS fixtures (D2, L2), throwing their hopes of securing MLS playoff qualification into doubt. Though they start this round in the penultimate Western Conference qualification spot, the hosts cannot rest easy, with 10th-placed Austin FC only four points behind. Despite only losing twice in 14 home league outings this season (W7, D5, L2), Luchi Gonzalez’s men have delivered a string of underwhelming performances at PayPal Park, registering just one victory in their last six MLS fixtures here (D3, L2). Furthermore, they’ve gone winless in back-to-back home league meetings with Salt Lake (D1, L1) despite netting 2+ goals on both occasions.

In the meantime, Real Salt Lake recovered from consecutive high-scoring defeats to Houston Dynamo and Portland Timbers with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Colorado Rapids last time out, consolidating their pursuit of a third successive MLS playoff qualification. Pablo Mastroeni’s men boast a seven-point lead on Austin at the start of this matchday, largely thanks to their stellar away record. As the best-performing travelers in the Western Conference, the visitors have amassed a league-high 21 points on the road this term (W6, D3, L4). But they would be wise not to take anything for granted after going winless on their last two MLS travels (D1, L1), both of which saw them concede precisely two goals.