LAFC vs San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, May 20 at 7:30pm PT
Location: BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
Radio: 1110 AM ESPN, ESPN LA App, 980 AM La Mera Mera
LAFC played to a 1-1 draw against Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, May 17. The Black & Gold now host Northern California rival San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, May 20 at BMO Stadium.
MVP candidate Denis Bouanga scored his 10th MLS goal of the season on a cross from Mahala Opoku in the first half, which helped Bouanga create a two-goal cushion in the early MLS Golden Boot race.
The California rivals are set to clash for the second time in two weeks, where the Earthquakes were able to take advantage of a fatigued LAFC team on May 6 to extend their winning streak to five straight wins over LAFC away from BMO Stadium.
The Earthquakes are coming off a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Galaxy on Sunday, May 14 and currently sit in fifth place in the Western Conference Standings with 18 points through 12 games played.
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EARTHQUAKES IN-DEPTH
Led by head coach Luchi Gonzalez, the Earthquakes are in hopes of making it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. The Club has made the playoffs just once in the last five seasons but are off to a good start in 2023 with a 5-4-3 record and above the playoff line in the Western Conference Standings.
A brace by forward and Designated Player Christian Espinoza helped send LAFC to their first loss of the MLS season just two weeks ago. Espinoza leads the team with eight goals and three assists. Forward Jeremy Ebobisse has contributed five goals and one assist of his own.
The Earthquakes are expected to be without starting defender Nathan, who continues to recover from an ACL injury.
LAFC WILL WIN IF
They can take advantage of a San Jose team that has struggled to get a win on the road in 2023. The Black & Gold are undefeated in 14 out of their last 15 home games at BMO Stadium and need to continue to lean on the hot hand on the team in Denis Bouanga, who has scored in four straight regular season matches.
EARTHQUAKES CAN WIN IF
Christian Espinoza has his way on the field. He has proven he can get through the LAFC defense and will continue to apply pressure all game. The Earthquakes will most likely come out with a 4-3-3 formation and will drop to a 4-5-1 low block on defense to limit any opportunities LAFC may have.
