Preview: Real Salt Lake vs San Jose Earthquakes - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides separated by just one point in the MLS Western Conference mid-table square off on Saturday night as Real Salt Lake play host to the San Jose Earthquakes at the America First Field.

Having cruised to a 4-0 victory when the two sides met in February, the Quakes will head into the weekend looking to do the double against the hosts and snap their run of six consecutive matches without a win.

Match preview

Real Salt Lake were left red-faced last Sunday when they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of FC Cincinnati after conceding the only goal of the game three minutes away from the 90th-minute mark.

Despite taking 17 shots at goal, the home side were made to rue their lack of cutting edge in the final third as 25-year-old Luca Orellano netted an 87th-minute stunner against the run of play to fire Cincinnati to victory.

Real Salt Lake had won each of their previous three matches, seeing off St. Louis City, Houston Dynamo, and the Portland Timbers, and they were unbeaten in their five games prior to Sunday’s defeat (4W, 1D).

Pablo Mastroeni’s side have picked up 28 points from their 23 MLS matches so far to sit 10th in the Western Conference standings, one point behind ninth-placed San Jose Earthquakes in the second playoff qualifying spot.

While Real Salt Lake will hope to bounce back this weekend, San Jose Earthquakes have dominated this fixture over the past 12 meetings with seven wins and one draw since October 2020.

Despite currently being the third-highest scoring side in MLS this season, San Jose currently find themselves in mid-table as their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch continue.

This was highlighted in their most recent outing as Bruce Arena’s men suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of a spirited Seattle Sounders side when the two teams squared off at Lumen Field last Sunday.

Daniel Musovski grabbed a brace to cancel out Preston Judd’s 26th-minute opener and put Seattle in front, and after Cristian Arango restored parity in the 64th minute, Pedro de la Vega netted from long range in the 69th minute to hand the home side all three points.

San Jose Earthquakes are on a run of six consecutive games without a win across all competitions, claiming three draws and losing three, including a penalty-shootout defeat against Austin FC in the US Open Cup quarter-finals on July 9.

Real Salt Lake MLS form:

W D W W W L

San Jose Earthquakes MLS form:

W D D L D L

San Jose Earthquakes form (all competitions):

D D L L D L

Team News

Real Salt Lake will take to the pitch without the Jamaican duo of Mathew Bell and Javian Brown, who are currently recuperating from hamstring and knee injuries respectively.

They are joined on the club’s injury table by 22-year-old forward Tyler Wolff, who has missed each of the last 11 matches since coming off with a knee injury against DC United in June.

As for San Jose Earthquakes, Arena will be unable to call upon the services of American defender Dejuan Jones, who has been out of action since picking up an injury in the cup defeat against Austin FC two weeks ago.

Fellow countryman Benjamin Kikanovic has missed each of the last four games, while Brazilian defender Vitor Costa is a major doubt after sitting out Sunday’s clash against Seattle through injury.

English midfielder Noel Buck has been sidelined since May due to a leg problem, while Daniel Munie is set to miss his fifth consecutive game since sustaining an injury against Minnesota United on July 13.

Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:

Cabral; Caliskan, Glad, Junqua, Hidalgo; Ojeda, Ruiz; Gozo, Luna, Goncalves; Piol

San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:

Daniel; Romney, Floriani, Roberts; Espinoza, Kaye, Harkes, Ricketts; Arango, Judd, Bouda

We say: Real Salt Lake 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes

Real Salt Lake and San Jose have consistently produced exciting matches in the past, and we expect another thrilling match at America First Field as both teams strive for an automatic playoff spot.

Having said that, we believe that Real Salt Lake will shake off their defeat against Cincinnati and return to winning ways in front of their home supporters.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.