San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS Western Conference will welcome Eastern Conference side New York Red Bulls to PayPal Park this weekend, aiming to extend their unbeaten run.

The hosts are unbeaten in three matches, while the visitors arrive without a win in their last three outings as both sides seek to strengthen their playoff ambitions.

Match preview

San Jose Earthquakes head into this fixture hoping to stretch their unbeaten streak to four MLS matches, although their recent run includes two draws either side of a single win.

Bruce Arena’s men were held to a 1-1 draw by LA Galaxy in their most recent outing, following a similar scoreline against Portland Timbers, with a 4-2 victory over FC Dallas sandwiched between those stalemates.

After missing out on the playoffs in 2024, San Jose will be encouraged by their current standing in the Western Conference, sitting sixth with 27 points from 20 matches, and they have shown improvement this term, particularly in their ability to grind out results against strong opposition.

The Quakes now prepare for a second successive home game, but despite being unbeaten in their last six outings at PayPal Park across all competitions, they have drawn four of the last five in normal time, with only two of their last six home games ending in outright victories.

San Jose have not beaten New York Red Bulls in their last seven meetings across all formats, including a narrow 1-0 defeat in a friendly match earlier this year, with their last win in this fixture dating back to 2016, when they recorded a 2-0 triumph on home turf.

The Red Bulls have had the upper hand in this fixture over the last eight years, winning four and drawing one of their last five MLS encounters against San Jose, in addition to winning both friendly matches played during that period.

Sandro Schwarz will be looking to use that recent dominance as motivation, with his side eager to end a three-match winless run that has yielded two draws and a loss. 

Their most recent outing ended 2-2 against Orlando City, a match in which they led early through Emil Forsberg before salvaging a point via Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s dramatic late equaliser.

New York have collected 29 points from 20 matches and are currently seventh in the Eastern Conference, only one point clear of the playoff line and level on points with sixth-placed Inter Miami.

Despite recent frustrations, the Red Bulls have managed to avoid defeat in six of their last 10 league matches, and will be quietly confident of getting a result against a side they have historically fared well against.

San Jose Earthquakes MLS Playoffs form:

San Jose Earthquakes form (all competitions):

New York Red Bulls MLS Playoffs form:

New York Red Bulls form (all competitions):

Team News

San Jose remain without Noel Buck and Niko Tsakiris, who are both nursing injuries, while defender Bruno Wilson is continuing his recovery from a long-term knee issue and remains unavailable.

Cristian Espinoza, Preston Judd and Cristian Arango are expected to continue as the front three in Arena’s preferred 3-4-3 setup.

New York Red Bulls will be missing Cameron Harper due to a knee injury and Lewis Morgan through a thigh problem, while Daniel Edelman (neck) and Raheem Edwards (knee) remain doubts for the trip to California.

Peter Stroud returned to the midfield in their last game following suspension and is likely to keep his place, while Forsberg and Choupo-Moting will continue to provide experience and firepower in the final third, joined by Mohammed Sofo.

San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:

Daniel; Rodrigues, Munie, Romney; Jones, Leroux, Kaye, Costa; Espinoza, Judd, Arango

New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:

Coronel; Valencia, Eile, S. Nealis, Edwards; Duncan, Stroud, Carballo, Ngoma; Sofo, Choupo-Moting, Forsberg 

We say: San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 New York Red Bulls

The last seven matches between these two have not gone in favour of San Jose, but they head into this clash in slightly better form than the Red Bulls, and this could count for something.

The hosts have been solid at home, while the visitors have not been consistent on the road, which is why we are predicting a narrow home victory.

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

Previews by email