LAFC vs. San Jose Earthquakes | 2020 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 9
LAFC vs. San Jose Earthquakes
Banc of California Stadium – Los Angeles
September 2 – 11:00 PM ET

TV: UniMás, TUDN

STREAMING: Twitter in US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada

LAFC will be hoping history remains on their side when they take on the San Jose Earthquakes Wednesday night at Banc of California Stadium with both teams looking to bounce back from Week 8 defeats.

LAFC are looking to reverse course after consecutive losses, including a 3-1 road defeat to the Seattle Sounders Sunday at CenturyLink Field. The Quakes are hoping to rebound from a Cali Clasico loss to the LA Galaxy Saturday night.

What's that we said about history? LAFC have owned the short history between the team, winning all four regular season matchups, outscoring San Jose, 15-3. That includes a 4-0 triumph at home last August with Carlos Vela leading the way with a brace.

LAFC

Consecutive LAFC regular season losses are about as rare as week-long rain in Southern California. In fact, you have to go back to August 2018 when Bob Bradley's squad lost to the New York Red Bulls and Sporting KC. It was the second time that happened in their inaugural season. How did they respond? LAFC won their next two games as part of a six-match unbeaten streak, capped by a 2-0 win over the Quakes.

"You could just see with so many guys right now, confidence, mentality and form are things that we have got to find the right ways to get back," Bradley said after the loss to the Sounders Sunday.

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Carlos Vela (F) - Grade 2 MLS sprain
- OUT: Eduard Atuesta (M) - right foot injury
- OUT: Danilo Silva (D) - undisclosed injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None

San Jose Earthquakes

On 16-year-old Cade Cowell's first MLS goal, San Jose had a 2-1 lead with 30 minutes left. But Cristian Pavon leveled from the penalty spot and Sebastien Lletget scored the decisive goal 10 minutes later to lift the LA Galaxy to a 3-2 Cali Clasico win in Carson Saturday night. It snapped the Quakes modest three-match unbeaten streak in one of Major League Soccer's oldest rivalries.

It was San Jose's first match since the MLS is Back Tournament in July.

“I don’t think the result was a good justification," Matias Almeyda said. "The reality in football becomes very difficult when there is so much instability. You change training schedules; you change schedules and it stops being football. It was a Clasico today, and it seemed like a friendly after flying on the same day. It seemed amateur, but this did not have an impact on the result because the opposition was better.”