Preview:San Jose Earthquakes vs San Diego - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting for the first time in a Major League Soccer regular season game, the San Jose Earthquakes host San Diego at PayPal Park on Sunday.

A 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps has the Quakes holding down the final post-season spot in the Western Conference, with San Diego still first following a 2-0 win at Sporting Kansas City.

Match preview

San Jose picked a good time to break out of their slump, taking full advantage of the Caps’ red card before the half-hour mark last weekend.

That triumph ended a seven-match winless run for the Goonies across all competitions, putting them a point above the post-season line.

They will need to be much more consistent to remain above that line though, as Real Salt Lake are just below them with a game in hand.

Bruce Arena’s men have points in seven consecutive league fixtures at PayPal Park and have a chance to surpass their number of home wins from the 2024 regular season on Sunday (four).

While they have given up at least a goal in all but one of their MLS home affairs this year, this team have conceded one or fewer in three of those previous four games in San Jose.

The Quakes have not lost a home game to a California-based club in this competition since late June 2024 (3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy).

Despite their early exit at the Leagues Cup, San Diego were able to put together another impressive showing domestically a week ago.

With their victory last weekend, they became the first expansion side in MLS history to win five consecutive away matches in this competition.

Meanwhile, they are well on their way to setting another league record, currently eight points short of eclipsing the most all-time points mark in a regular season by an expansion team, with the current mark being 56 points held by St Louis City in 2023.

Mikey Varas’s men are four points clear of the Whitecaps for first in the West, though the latter have a game in hand, while three wins from their final eight league fixtures should be enough to see them clinch a playoff spot.

In 2025, they have a 100% away record in MLS when scoring the opening goal, while claiming just one positive result when conceding first outside of Snapdragon Stadium (3-1 win at Real Salt Lake).

San Diego have not conceded a single goal in two successive league fixtures and can set a club record in that department with another clean sheet this weekend.

San Jose Earthquakes Major League Soccer form:

San Jose Earthquakes form (all competitions):

San Diego Major League Soccer form:

San Diego form (all competitions):

Team News

In their victory over Vancouver, the Quakes were without Benji Kikanovic, who had an upper body injury, while Reid Roberts is eligible to return on Sunday from a red card suspension.

Josef Martinez put them ahead in that match, scoring a 54th-minute penalty, and Preston Judd had the winner in the fourth minute of added time.

Lower body injuries plagued San Diego against SKC, with Oscar Verhoeven, Pablo Sisniega, Anisse Saidi, Paddy McNair, William Kumado and Marcus Ingvartsen all sitting out for that reason.

Hirving Lozano scored the goal of the week, which wound up being the winner, Anders Dreyer added an insurance marker in the second half, while Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos made seven stops for a clean sheet.

San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:

Daniel; Munie, Wilson, Romney; Jones, Kaye, Leroux, Costa; Espinoza, Arango, Martinez

San Diego possible starting lineup:

Dos Santos; Harangi, McVey, Duah, Bombino; Godoy, De la Torre, Vazquez; Valakari; Dreyer, Lozano

We say: San Jose Earthquakes 1-2 San Diego

San Diego have netted multiple times in nine domestic away matches this year, and they should have their share of opportunities to score against the joint third-worst defensive unit in the West this year, in terms of goals conceded (45).

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