LAFC at San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, May 4 at 4:30pm PT
Location: Levi's Stadium - Santa Clara, CA
TV: Free on Apple TV – MLS Season Pass
After a thrilling 3-2 defeat of the Portland Timbers last Saturday, LAFC travels to face Northern California rivals the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, May 4, at Levi's Stadium.
A Denis Bouanga goal in stoppage time helped the Black & Gold gain three points (4W-3L-3D) in dramatic fashion against the Timbers and climb to fifth place in the Western Conference.
LAFC is 9W-6L-1D against the Earthquakes across all competitions, but has lost its last five road meetings with San Jose.
Quakes in-depth
Led by head coach Luchi Gonzalez, the Earthquakes are eager to snap out of a slow start to the season. They currently own a record of 1W-8L-1D in MLS play and sit in last place in the Western Conference.
After picking up its first win on March 23 against the Seattle Sounders, the club has gone winless in its last five (0W-4L-1D), and is coming off a 1-1 draw on the road against Nashville SC.
Midfielder Jack Skahan was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday last week after he scored the Quakes’ only goal against Nashville. Playmaker Cristian Espinoza leads San Jose in minutes played (898) and assists (five).
The Quakes recently signed Argentine midfielder Hernán López, the great-nephew of legendary Argentine star Diego Maradona, who joins San Jose from Argentinian side Club Deportivo Godoy Cruz, where he tallied seven goals and six assists in 51 appearances.
The Black & Gold Can Win If:
It can suppress a hungry San Jose team that’s willing to take chances in order to turn its season around. A crowd at or near capacity is expected at Levi’s Stadium (68,500) for what it hopes will be the Quakes’ second win of 2024. Denis Bouanga, who has scored four goals in his last four matches (not counting the own goal he engineered for his team against Portland last week), will seek to stay hot, score early, and negate the Quakes’ home-field advantage.
The Quakes Can Win If:
They gain energy from what will likely be their largest home crowd of the season. San Jose’s only win of 2024 came in front of 16,109 fans at the Quakes’ home stadium, PayPal Park. A crowd four times that size is expected on Saturday at the home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. Espinoza and forward Jeremy Ebobisse, who have combined for 14 goals and 10 assists in 14 combined appearances across all competitions against LAFC, will try to send those supporters home happy.
