San Jose, barely favored in the soccer odds, will try its
best to cash for backers in this weekend's home encounter with New York. The
Red Bulls are on top in the East and with 3 games in hand on the Galaxy will
need to take points.
Sure, the Earthquakes may already be 15 points behind the
Western Conference leading L.A. Galaxy, but it's not like they have been
playing too badly.
As a matter of fact, San Jose and Los Angeles finished at a
0-0 deadlock last weekend. The Earthquakes were up a man for the entire second
half after the Galaxy's Josh Saunders was handed his marching orders just
before the break, but really did not generate enough chances even with the
advantage.
Still, getting a point against one of the league's elite
sides was still a relatively positive result. In the standings, the Earthquakes
are now sitting sixth out of nine teams in the West, though they have some
matches to make up on a majority of their competitors.
They'll stay at home this weekend in what is sure to be a
scrappy affair against New York.
Currently the league's most prolific offense, the Red Bulls
are tied for second in the East, only two points below the Philadelphia Union (Union take on DC United on Saturday) in the table.
However, their knack for scoring has not helped as of late.
New York has gone without a win in three straight games, including last
Sunday's 1-1 draw versus the Chicago Fire.
Granted the Red Bulls were missing a few players who were on
international duty, but they still had plenty of firepower on the field to get
back on the winning end of things.
Failing to hold on to a 1-0 lead, after a 40th
minute goal from Joel Lindpere, New York allowed Marco Pappa to score from
close to 30 yards out in the second half.
Both teams welcome back important pieces
Running over the soccer odds for Saturday's game, we see very
little seperating these two franchises. Bookmaker has the Earthquakes at +135
to win and the Red Bulls at +165 while it's even tighter at 5Dimes, where San
Jose is +169 and New York can be backed at +183.
The Earthquakes will be glad to have leading scorer Chris
Wondolowski back after he served for the United States in the Gold Cup.
Immediately after he left the squad, San Jose was still able to put in goals,
but it's been a struggle in the last two matches in which the team has failed
to find the back of the net altogether.
Wondolowski, who's scored six times this season, is sure to
inject some energy and creativity back into the Earthquakes' attack.
Having scored 27 times (in 17 matches) on the season, New
York's had little trouble on the offensive end. The Red Bulls have the most
goals of any team in the MLS, including the L.A. Galaxy (25) who have also
played two more games.
In addition, coach Hans Backe recently got a boost when some
key contributors returned to the squad, with Juan Agudelo, Rafael Marquez and
Tim Ream all back from international duty.
Unfortunately for the Red Bulls, veteran defender Marquez
will miss Saturday's contest after limping off during the Gold Cup final due to
a hamstring injury. That is terrible news for a New York team that has allowed
an unacceptable eight goals in its three most recent matches.
To boot, Thierry Henry and company may be hovering near the
top of the Eastern Conference standings, but San Jose will take some comfort in
knowing their upcoming opponents have won only once in nine away fixtures this
season.
The Earthquakes on the other hand have been solid on home
turf, and I see Wondolowski leading the way this Saturday versus what has been
an extremely porous Red Bulls defense in recent weeks.
FREE Pick: San Jose 2 New York 1