Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Major League Soccer clash between San Jose Earthquakes and Austin FC, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
It is now or never for San Jose Earthquakes in their playoff qualification push as they welcome Austin FC to PayPal Park in the final game of the MLS regular season on Sunday morning.
While Austin have already sealed their spot in the playoffs, Bruce Arena’s men find themselves two points off the final qualifying playoff spot and must secure victory this weekend to stand a chance of securing post-season football.
Match preview
San Jose Earthquakes suffered a damaging blow to their playoff qualification push just before the international break as they fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Vancouver Whitecaps on October 5.
Goals from Rayan Elloumi and Thomas Muller, and a second-half brace from American midfielder Sebastian Berhalter fired Vancouver to a comfortable victory, with Beau Leroux pulling one back for the visitors in the 89th minute.
Prior to that, Arena’s men snapped their run of three back-to-back defeats on September 28, when they picked up a 1-0 victory over San Diego FC courtesy of a 14th-minute strike from 32-year-old Josef Martinez.
San Jose Earthquakes have lost 15 of their 33 MLS matches so far while picking up 10 wins and eight draws to collect 38 points and sit 11th in the Western Conference standings, two points behind ninth-placed Real Salt Lake in the second playoff qualifying spot.
While the Quakes will be looking to sneak into the playoff places on the final day, they are up against an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in each of their last eight meetings, losing three and claiming five draws since a 4-0 win in October 2021.
On the other hand, Austin sealed their playoff spot on Monday as they secured a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Los Angeles FC when the two sides squared off at the Q2 Stadium.
With nothing to separate the two teams heading into the final five minutes of the game, Owen Wolff came up clutch for the Verde and Black as he struck in the 83rd minute to hand them all three points.
Austin had lost each of their previous three matches across all competitions, suffering MLS defeats against Real Salt Lake and St. Louis City on either side of a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Nashville in the US Open Cup final on October 2.
Nico Estevez’s men have picked up 13 wins and eight draws from their 47 MLS matches to collect 47 points and sit sixth in the Western Conference table, six points above eighth-placed FC Dallas in the first playoff qualifying spot.
Austin will now close out the season with a trip to PayPal Park, where San Jose have failed to win seven of their last eight home matches, losing three and picking up five draws since May 15.
San Jose Earthquakes Major League Soccer form:
Austin FC Major League Soccer form:
Austin FC form (all competitions):
Team News
San Jose Earthquakes remain without the services of 28-year-old defender DeJuan Jones, who has missed each of the last four games since coming off injured against Austin FC on August 31.
Experienced striker Cristian Arango endured a quiet outing against Vancouver Whitecaps last time out, but the 30-year-old, who has 16 goal involvements under his belt in the league (13G, 3A), will look to make his mark this weekend.
Austin FC, meanwhile, will take to the pitch without the services of 27-year-old forward Brandon Vazquez, who has been ruled out since picking up a knee injury against San Jose Earthquakes in July. Â
Veteran forward Diego Rubio missed the games against Los Angeles FC last time out and the 32-year-old is also a doubt for this weekend’s matchup.
Wolff has been a standout performer for Austin this season, and the 20-year-old forward, who boasts six goals and seven assists in the league this season, will be one to keep an eye on.
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Floriani, Munie, Roberts; Kikanovic, Harkes, Vieira, Bouda; Espinoza, Martinez, Arango
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Hines-Ike, Djordjevic, Svatok; Desler, Sabovic, Pereira, Biro; Bukari, Uzuni, Wolff
We say: San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 Austin FC
While Austin can take their foot off the gas, having already secured a playoff spot, it is a must-win for San Jose Earthquakes, who are looking to jump into ninth place in the table this weekend.
While they have struggled for results in this fixture, we predict Arena’s men will make the most of their home advantage this weekend and come away with all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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