Match Preview: LA Galaxy look to build momentum in NorCal against San Jose Earthquakes
Galaxy looks finish the season unbeaten against San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night.
The LA Galaxy are looking to follow up Saturday night’s win over the Chicago Fire with a midweek win over rivals the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night. The 98th edition of the Cali Clasico will be played at PayPal Park - the Galaxy last played there on June 2021 and won 3-1.
The Earthquakes are coming off a 3-0 loss on the road to Sporting Kansas City last Saturday night. In their last four home games, the Quakes have just one win. Their squad will look to rebuild their home form that is among the best in MLS.
This will be the Galaxy's second game in four days and then the club will focus on hosting the Houston Dynamo three days later. With new faces on the team, many will get their first taste of California’s first major MLS rivalry match. Let’s get into the preview.
The Storyline
The Galaxy can go undefeated against the Earthquakes this season, a big accomplishment given the rivalry and current state of the LA Galaxy.
The first match between these two clubs saw the LA Galaxy put up one of their best performances of the season. Vanney’s side was clicking and the backline tamed a San Jose attack that was in good form at the time.
Their last meeting at Stanford Stadium should’ve been a victory but individual mistakes cost them their lead. A poor pass by Chris Mavinga in the box and a shot deflected off him and into the back of the net. It was a game in that LA should’ve walked away with three points but a point on the road is always good in MLS.
While this rivalry doesn’t have the same weight as years past, but still holds that importance among the two fan bases. In the case of the Galaxy, a victory is a solid stepping stone to build momentum at this stage of the season. They need to win games to make their playoff chance bigger. What matters now is building momentum and gaining confidence - especially with hard matchups coming on the horizon.
Players to Watch
LA Galaxy: Tyler Boyd, winger
Following his goal against the Fire, Boyd scored his fifth MLS goal and sixth across all competitions to currently lead the club’s goalscoring chart. He’s been a dangerous player out wide due to his pace and now teams view him as the Galxay’s main goalscoring threat.
It’s great to see Boyd develop into an important piece for the Galaxy, I want him to keep this goalscoring form going. He’s capable of scoring more goals as he gets into great positions on the pitch and it helps he’s comfortable striking the ball with both feet. In his last four MLS matches, he’s scored three times and recorded one assist.
With how the Quakes struggled to defend SKC’s wingers, this needs to be a game where he’s a constant danger and finds the back of the net once again to keep his form going. At this point of the season, there need to be players who can carry the goalscoring load and be “the guy”. Boyd can show he’s capable of being that player.
San Jose: Cristian Espinoza, winger
Derby games are where your best players show up, it’s where they thrive. San Jose has an elite winger in Espinoza, who’s in great form. In his last five games, the Argentine has four goals and one assist.
In their last match, the Galaxy were able to push their full backs forward as Uri Rosell and Edwin Cerrillo played deeper and covered for their full backs. If the Galaxy are going to keep this approach, it wouldn’t surprise me to see so many of San Jose’s attacks run through Espinoza.
Left back Raheem Edwards, who will likely start Wednesday night, had a rough game against the Fire. His touches on the ball were poor, he struggled to keep up defensively and looked very rusty in general. I expect to see a lot of 1v1 duels between him and Espinoza.
The winning edge: Who’s strikers show up
Both teams are seeing their striker corp lose momentum and become less of a threat to their teams. The Galaxy have seen the inconsistent play from Dejan Joveljic all season long and Jeremy Ebobisse has scored once in his last 10 starts.
Both teams have added to their striker room in recent weeks. LA saw free agent signing Billy Sharp make his debut and score last Saturday. The Earthquakes have added forwards Ayo Akinola and Matthew Hoppe to bolster their attack, both players can play up top as number 9 if needed.
Joveljic’s last MLS goal was against the Quakes back in May off the bench. He’s had plenty of chances and shots on goal but he can’t find the right finish to put the ball in the back of the net. As mentioned earlier, Sharp scored on his debut and he’ll likely be coming off the bench for the rest of the season.
With home-field advantage, I expect to see the Quakes have many offensive spurts during the game. With Ebobisse’s record of seven goals in 13 matches against LA, it would not surprise me in the slightest to see him get back on the scoresheet in this matchup.
Whichever team can get their strikers to score goals and contribute on the scoresheet the most will come away with the victory. While it sounds so simple, the current form of their number 9s makes it sound a bit more difficult.