San Jose Earthquakes will set out to end a four-game winless run in Major League Soccer action when they take on Austin FC at PayPal Park on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the away side will be aiming to get themselves back on track having won just one of their last 12 matches across all competitions.
Match preview
© Reuters
San Jose Earthquakes played out a share of the spoils for the third game running in a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas at the Toyota Stadium on October 8.
Luchi Gonzalez's men raced to an early lead through Jeremy Ebobisse's strike but were pegged back three minutes shy of the hour mark by Jader Obrian.
As a result, the Goonies remain ninth in the Western Conference of the MLS table, level on points with Portland Timbers in the race for the final automatic playoff spot.
Lying in store next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have failed to emerge victorious from any of the previous six editions of this fixture.
Now in the last-chance-saloon to secure a place in the postseason, Sunday's hosts are now faced with a must-win encounter in front of their fans.
© Reuters
Austin FC were on the receiving end of a 4-2 defeat against Los Angeles FC when the sides went head-to-head at the Q2 Stadium on October 8.
Goals from Timothy Tillman and Cristian Olivera either side of a Denis Bouanga brace left Josh Wolff's men with a mountain to climb after which Leo Vaisanen's strike and a Giorgio Chiellini own goal halved the deficit.
With 38 points amassed from 33 matches so far, Los Verdes sit 12th in the Western Conference standings, and their playoff dream is now officially over.
Winless in six straight matches on the road leading up to this weekend's contest, Sunday's visitors will be keen to turn their away fortunes around.
Team News
© Reuters
Twenty-eight-year-old Nathan is still ruled out of action for San Jose with a knee problem which has seen him fail to feature this season.
Jeremy Ebobisse found the back of the net in the last meeting between Sunday's opponents, and he will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
Austin's Zan Kolmanic remains out of contention with a ligament injury, but the defender is drawing increasingly closer to making his comeback.
Twenty-six-year-old Leo Vaisanen is not expected to play any part for the away side as he is currently on international duty with Finland.
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Trauco, Beason, Rodrigues, Akapo; Gruezo, Yueill; Marie, Hoppe, Espinoza; Ebobisse
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Gallagher, Cascante, Lundqvist, Lima; Ring, Valencia; Finlay, Driussi, Rigoni; Bruin
We say: San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 Austin FC
San Jose have enjoyed the better of this fixture to a large degree and we can see the trend continuing here. We are tipping the hosts to cruise to a routine win come the end of the 90 minutes.
How to watch
You can watch San Jose Earthquakes vs. Austin FC and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Previews by email
The 2023 MLS season is now up and running, and you can watch every game live with the MLS season pass on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.
