San Jose Earthquakes will play host to Houston Dynamo when they clash at PayPal Park in their MLS fixture this weekend.
The home side are eighth in the Western Conference standings with 18 points, while the visitors are two places and a couple of points adrift of the hosts.
Match preview
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Fresh from booking their place in the last eight of the US Open Cup, San Jose Earthquakes will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to six across all competitions and five games in MLS.
San Jose Earthquakes struggled with a slow start to the 2025 MLS season, claiming 10 points from 10 matches.
Their situation got worse with three back-to-back losses recorded against Los Angeles (2-1), Sporting Kansas City (5-3) and Columbus Crew (2-1).
They have since bounced back from that setback, claiming consecutive wins over Portland Timbers (4-1) and Colorado Rapids (2-0) to claim their second back-to-back victories in 2025, before successive draws against Inter Miami and New England Revolution.
Their recent run of four games without a loss in the league leaves them eighth in the Western Conference standings, having accrued 18 points across 14 matches this term.
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Elsewhere, Houston Dynamo come into this match on the back of a disappointing 3-1 loss to Austin that saw them crash out of the US Open Cup.
However, the visitors have been decent in the league, claiming four wins, two draws and a couple of defeats in their last eight MLS fixtures.
Despite their ouster from the Cup, Ben Olsen's team will be looking to make it three league wins on the bounce for the first time since March 2024.
However, a source of concern for the visitors is their poor form on the road, having managed to win only one of their last nine fixtures away from their home ground.
A win for the Orange Crush could see them rise as high as seventh in the standings if other results go their way this weekend.
Team News
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San Jose Earthquakes should send out a similar starting XI to their 0-0 draw against New England Revolution given their recent change in fortunes, with Niko Tsakiris, Noel Buck and Bruno Wilson recuperating from various injuries.
Bruce Arena will also have to cope with the absence of nine-goal man Cristian Arango, who is currently battling a hamstring injury.
The Brazilian duo of Rodrigues and Daniel are also not expected to feature in Arena's plans, as they are both out with unspecified injuries.
For the away side, Nelson Quinones and Lawrence Ennali remain out with knee injuries, meaning they will sit out the contest at the weekend.
Similarly, Andrew Tarbell continues his spell on the sidelines with a long-term knee injury.
Meanwhile, Erik Sviatchenko and Ezequiel Ponce have both been ruled out for this weekend's fixture due to unknown injuries.
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Floriani, Munie, Roberts; Fernandez, Kaye, Ricketts, Lima; Pellegrino, Marie, Judd
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Bond; Awodesu, Ortiz, Dorsey, Escobar; Raines, Artur; Bassi, McGlynn, Kowalczyk; Lingr
We say: San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Houston Dynamo
Both sides come into this match on the back of decent showings lately, with little or nothing to separate them, this match could end 1-1 after regular time.
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