The latest round of matches in the 2023 Major League Soccer season sees San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy lock horns at PayPal Park on Thursday morning.
Off the back of contrasting results last time out, the teams head into this one in contrasting moods, but we expect a close contest nonetheless.
Match preview
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San Jose Earthquakes fell to a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Sporting Kansas City when the sides faced off at Children's Mercy Park on Sunday.
Luchi Gonzalez's men went into the interval with a mountain to climb having conceded goals from Daniel Salloi and Johnny Russell after which Erik Thommy put the final nail in the coffin.
As a result, the Goonies have dropped down to sixth place in the Western Conference of the MLS table, just two points clear of the chasing pack in the race for a playoff berth.
Their next task comes against an opposing outfit with little to choose between the teams judging from recent encounters, with the last nine clashes yielding four wins apiece and one share of the spoils.
Unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 matches on home turf, Thursday's hosts have proven themselves to be a tough nut to crack in front of their fans.
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Los Angeles Galaxy snapped a run of three straight defeats across all competitions by comprehensively beating Chicago Fire 3-0 at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
Greg Vanney's men broke the deadlock just shy of the half-hour mark through Tyler Boyd before second-half goals from Riqui Puig and Billy Sharp sealed the deal.
With 25 points from their 23 matches so far, the Galaxy sit bottom but one in the Western Conference standings, a whopping eight points shy of playoff contention.
Winless in five consecutive outings on the road leading up to Thursday's affair, the visitors set out to turn their away fortunes around and pick up a first victory since June.
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Team News
San Jose's Nathan is yet to make an appearance in 2023 due to a knee injury, and the Brazilian is still a long way off making his comeback.
Judson is also unavailable for the home side having missed the last four games due to a muscle problem he picked up against Portland Timbers.
Thirty-six-year-old Martin Caceres is yet to fully recuperate from a long-term injury problem and remains out of contention for Los Angeles Galaxy.
Javier Hernandez also misses out for the visitors due to a knee injury, while Gaston Brugman's involvement currently hangs in the balance.
Billy Sharp opened his account within 20 minutes of coming on as a second-half substitute last time out and that could see him rewarded with a place in the starting XI here.
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Trauco, Beason, Rodrigues, Akapo; Gruezo, Yueill; Cowell, Monteiro, Espinoza; Ebobisse
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Calegari, Zavaleta, Yoshida, Edwards; Cerrillo, Rosell; Costa, Puig, Boyd; Sharp
We say: San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 Los Angeles Galaxy
The last six meetings between San Jose and Los Angeles have ended with both teams scoring, and we expect Thursday's clash to be no different. That said, we are tipping the hosts to narrowly pip their visitors to all three points come the end of the 90 minutes.
How to watch
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Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
