Columbus Crew will host San Jose Earthquakes at the Lower.com Field in their gameweek 10 MLS fixture this weekend.
The home side will be looking to get back to winning ways, after they saw their three-game winning streak ended by Inter Miami in their last outing, while the visitors will come into this contest off the back of consecutive losses.
Match preview
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Columbus Crew enjoyed a fine start to the season, recording five wins, three draws and a loss in nine matches, leaving them fourth in the Eastern Conference with 18 points.
In their last outing, the Crew suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Inter Miami, ending their three-game winning streak in the league, and an unbeaten run of seven matches across all competitions.
Going head-to-head against San Jose Earthquakes, who are 10th in the Western Conference, the home side will fancy their chances of getting back to winning ways against the visitors, who have suffered back-to-back losses in the league.
However, the hosts have not been ruthless on their turf, with two games won, a couple drawn and one defeat in their five matches at home this term.
Nevertheless, Wilfried Nancy's team can bank on their backline that has conceded only seven goals, making them the joint-second best defence in the league.
A win for the home side could see them overtake Charlotte FC, FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami if other results go their way.
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San Jose Earthquakes ended a four-game winless run courtesy of a 6-1 thrashing of DC United, but they could not continue on that path with consecutive losses in the league.
The Quakes lost 2-1 to Los Angeles FC at the BMO Stadium in gameweek eight, before suffering a 5-3 defeat to Sporting Kansas City last weekend.
Heading into this contest, the visitors will be aiming to avoid a third straight loss for the first time since March 2025.
After nine fixtures, Bruce Arena's team have amassed 10 points from nine matches and are currently 10th in the Western Conference table.
Although a victory for the Goonies is a long shot given their dismal start to the 2025 campaign, claiming all three points this weekend will see them move as high as seventh if the results of teams in and around them go their way.
Team News
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Nancy will lead his team into battle without long-term absentees Rudy Camacho and Nicholas Hagen, who are suffering from thigh and finger injuries respectively.
Up front, Lassi Lappalainen will also miss out on the action this weekend, and Nancy may call on Maximilian Arfsten and Mohamed Farsi on the wings, while striker Jacen Russell-Rowe, Diego Rossi and Daniel Gazdag will make up the front three.
San Jose have several injury concerns ahead of this fixture, meaning Arena will have to cope with the absence of several key players.
Hernan Lopez is currently recovering from a shoulder injury, while Brazilian goalkeeper Daniel is also on the sidelines, meaning both players will not be involved at the weekend.
Furthermore, Wilson Bruno continues his battle with an unspecified injury, while Nick Fernandez is currently out of contention with an undisclosed injury.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Amundsen, Zawadzki, Moreira; Nagbe, Chambost, Arfsten, Farsi; Gazdag, Russel-Rowe, Rossi
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Edwards, Romney, Munie, Rodrigues; Costa, Kaye, Leroux, Tsakiris, Espinoza; Arango, Martinez
We say: Columbus Crew 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes
Although Columbus Crew suffered a narrow loss to Inter Miami in their last league outing, the Crew still have a lot of quality to hurt the visitors, but given the visitors' need to turn their season around, they will be desperate for a favourable result; therefore, we predict a 2-1 win for the home team.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
