The two teams at the top of the Western Conference clash on Saturday when the San Jose Earthquakes take on Real Salt Lake at the Buck Shaw Stadium. What are the soccer odds makers expecting out of this matchup, and is there any betting value?
Real Salt Lake,
broke its four-game winless slide with a 3-0 thumping of the Portland Timbers and
will be looking to add victory to victory, and snatch the top spot in the
Western Conference when they visit San Jose, while the Quakes will want to stop
their mini streak swelling after two winless games.
Three is the
magic number
It was quiet the break of a streak on Sunday
night when Alvaro Saborio scored a second-half hat-trick to see the RSL snap
their four-game winless streak with a one man 3-0 Major League Soccer showpiece
against the Portland Timbers at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Two headers in
three minutes around the 60 minute mark from the Costa Rican forward put the
Salties in control before a red card for Portland’s Diego Chara supplemented
the visitors' problems. Chara's goal-line handball kept out a third Saborio
header, but the forward did not have to wait long to complete his treble by
converting the resulting penalty. Saborio has now scored 26 goals in his
career, 14 last season - and he has 10 already this year.
Winless in three
or undefeated in three (or both)
The Earthquakes
are in danger of making it a three game winless streak after a goalless draw
with FC Dallas, and a 2-1 loss against the Portland Timbers (after winning
their previous three games). It’s a right royal reverse for Real Salt Lake who
suffered three straight defeats (against Columbus Crew, San Jose Earthquakes
and LA Galaxy) before a 0-0 draw against the Sounders, but bounced back with a
vengeance beating Portland in their last game.
Eye to eye
The most
interesting stats in this match up are the head to head meetings – however
that’s hardly a decisive set of results. The games are all even Stevens with 2
Real wins, two San Jose wins and one draw.
San Jose won the last two encounters (one home and one away) outscoring
Real 5-2. Before you throw the kids’ college fund on a SJ win you should know
that the two games before that (home and away) Real cleaned up against the
Quakes (and outscored them, 5-0).
BUT before you
take the wife’s shoe fund and add a Real win to your soccer picks, you should know that the
game before that was a goalless draw.
The tale of the
table
It’s a table
topper match up on Saturday as when San
Jose host Real Salt Lake as the Quakes
are on pole in the Western Conference by just a single point, as they have
collected 37 points after 19 games while
the Salties (I will continue with that nickname ‘til it sticks) are on 36 after
20. Even if San Jose lose they will have that “all important” game in hand, in
hand to take back the top spot, but points won are very different to points
available.
NB: The teams
behind real Salt Lake in the bronze position are the Seattle Sounders and the
Vancouver Whitecaps, but they are both six points adrift of the Salties.
San Jose are
5-2-1 at home this season, while RSL are 4-2-3 away, yet another stat that
fails to give us a decisive winner. In cases like this I tend to toss a coin to
pick my winner.
One coin toss later
Would you believe
it? The coin spun in the air and landed on its edge, straight up it refused to
go heads or tails, Quakes or Reals and therefore, after checking out the current soccer odds, I’m backing a draw and backing
a draw hard.
I’m torn between
1-1 and 0-0 but as Real Salt Lake drew in their game
before on the 5th (against Seattle) 0-0 and San Jose managed just a 0-0 against
Dallas in their last game, the gods of football will want some goals so I’m
backing a goal apiece for these sides and no change at the top of the table.
Prediction: Honours even as the game ends 1-1