San Jose Earthquakes visit the Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday for their meeting with Los Angeles Galaxy looking to avoid a fourth consecutive league defeat.
The hosts will aim to get back to winning ways and preserve their 100% record at home so far after a loss on the road last time out.
Match preview
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Los Angeles Galaxy saw their two-game winning streak come to an end following a 3-0 humbling at the hands of Portland Timbers on Saturday.
After a goalless opening 45 minutes, Felipe Mora's second-half brace and Diego Valeri's penalty put Greg Vanney's men to the sword at the Providence Park.
The Galaxy continue to struggle on the road and have only picked up three points from their three games away from home this term.
Regardless, Sunday's hosts are currently third in the Western Conference, five points off the top having played a game fewer than their rivals.
They are set to welcome a San Jose outfit against whom they have struggled in recent meetings, with nine losses in the last 17 encounters between the sides.
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San Jose Earthquakes suffered a second home defeat on the trot after they were beaten 3-1 by Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.
Javier Lopez gave Matias Almeyda's men the lead with less than five minutes played, but that advantage was wiped out by Jaylin Lindsey 10 minutes later, before second-half goals from Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi completed the turnaround.
A run of three consecutive losses has brought the Goonies crashing down to earth after they had enjoyed three wins on the bounce prior to that.
However, Sunday's visitors were victorious on their last visit to the hosts back in October 2020, when they claimed an emphatic 4-0 win.
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Team News
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Derrick Williams was given his marching orders last time out, and the American will serve the first of a three-game suspension in this one.
Sega Coulibaly could be handed his debut as a result, but Nick DePuy is likely to fill in for his compatriot at the heart of the defence.
Javier Hernandez has scored five of his seven league goals on home turf, and he will be relied upon once again to fire his side to victory.
Jacob Akanyirige has missed each of the away side's seven matches so far due to a knee problem, and that run is set to be extended further.
Seventeen-year-old Cade Cowell has been directly involved in five of his team's 11 goals this campaign, scoring two and setting up three.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Villafana, DePuy, Steres, Araujo; Lletget, Dos Santos, Alvarez; Grandsir, Cabral, Hernandez
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Marcinkowski; Marie, Alanis, Jungwirth, Thompson; Remedi, Yueill, Lopez; Cowell, Rios, Espinoza
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes
Given their form in recent weeks, the visitors come into this one on the back foot and would take anything that they can get from the game. However, we are tipping the home side to claim all three points come the full-time whistle.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Los Angeles Galaxy win with a probability of 50.91%. A win for San Jose Earthquakes had a probability of 27.21% and a draw had a probability of 21.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Los Angeles Galaxy win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.36%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (6.84%) and 2-0 (6.73%). The likeliest San Jose Earthquakes win was 1-2 (6.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.53%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 6.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Los Angeles Galaxy would win this match.
