San Jose Earthquakes vs. Colorado Rapids | 2017 MLS Match Preview

Sam Stejskal

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Colorado Rapids
2017 MLS Match Preview
Avaya Stadium – San Jose, California
Saturday, July 29 – 8 pm ET
Watch: MLS LIVE

After starting the Chris Leitch era with wins in MLS and US Open Cup play, the San Jose Earthquakes enter Saturday’s match against the Colorado Rapids looking to snap a three-game league losing streak.

None of the defeats have been particularly close, with San Jose losing 4-2 at Atlanta United on July 4 before falling 5-1 at the New York Red Bulls and 3-0 at the Seattle Sounders last week. The common thread between those three matches? They were all on the road, where San Jose are 2-8-1 this year. But they're 5-1-4 at Avaya Stadium, and looking forward to restarting their home schedule on Saturday.

“We’ve got two home games coming up here and we’re just outside of the playoffs,” midfielder Shea Salinas said. “I think now is the time where we’ve really got to stick together as a team. We can’t point fingers, we’ve got to look at ourselves and see what we can do better individually. I think that’ll give us the push we need to make the playoffs here.”

Colorado, meanwhile, got the second half of their season off to a solid start last weekend, when Dominique Badji hit a late equalizer in a surprising 1-1 draw at league-leading Toronto FC. The Rapids, who have been near the bottom of the Western Conference all year, are hoping the result will be a springboard for a positive stretch run.

“We see this second half of the season as a new slate,” Badji said after drawing Toronto. “Forget everything [from] the first half; it's a whole new season. [We have to] have that mentality going forward. This is a great way to start, with a point on the road.”

San Jose Earthquakes

After seeing his side outscored 8-1 in two losses last week, Leitch will have some interesting lineup choices to make ahead of Saturday’s contest against the Rapids. Influential midfielder Anibal Godoy is out due to a yellow card accumulation suspension, but new Designated Player Valeri Qazaishvili, who made a pair of appearances off the bench last week and scored at New York, could be in line for his first start in MLS. Marco Urena could also be in for a return to the lineup after returning to the team following his Gold Cup run with Costa Rica.

We could also see new center back Francois Affolter make his first appearance in the 18, though he’s a more likely candidate for the bench than the starting lineup as he works his way into full fitness after joining the Quakes from Swiss club Luzern last Friday.

Suspended: Anibal Godoy (yellow card accumulation)
International Duty: None
Injury Report: OUT – D Harold Cummings (leg surgery), M - Jahmir Hyka (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: M Marc Pelosi (left knee), D Kip Colvey (knee)

Projected Starting Lineup (4-4-2, left to right): David Bingham – Florian Jungwirth, Andres Imperiale, Victor Bernardez, Nick Lima – Tommy Thompson, Fatai Alashe, Valeri Qazaishvili, Shea Salinas – Marco Urena, Chris Wondolowski

Notes:San Jose's three-game losing streak is their longest of the season. They haven't lost four straight in the league since a rough patch from July 5-26 of 2015.

Colorado Rapids

After holding Toronto to a 1-1 draw at BMO Field, don’t expect Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni to make many changes to his lineup. As the Rapids tend to do on the road, they’ll like concede the majority of possession to San Jose, looking to defend deep and hit the Quakes – who have been gifting goals recently – on the break.

One man likely to return to the XI is goalkeeper Tim Howard. He’ll be done with Gold Cup duty by the weekend, and could potentially stay in the Bay Area following the US national team's final against Jamaica on Wednesday night. Bismark Boateng could also potentially return to the lineup after making an appearance on the bench last week following a lengthy injury layoff.

Suspended: None
International Duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D Bobby Burling (foot); QUESTIONABLE: F Shkelzen Gashi (calf), M Joshua Gatt (groin)

Projected Starting Lineup (4-4-2, left to right): Tim Howard – Mike da Fonte, Axel Sjoberg, Kortne Ford, Eric Miller – Dillon Serna, Mohammed Saeid, Micheal Azira, Marlon Hairston – Kevin Doyle, Dominique Badji

Notes:Badji has been involved in each of the Rapids’ last six goals, dating back to June 21, with two goals and four assists.

All-Time Series

San Jose have a healthy lead in the all-time series, but the Rapids have won the only meeting between the sides this year, beating the Quakes 3-0 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on May 13.

Overall: San Jose 28 wins (88 goals) … Colorado 20 wins (76 goals) … Ties 15
At San Jose: San Jose 15 wins (50 goals) … Colorado 8 wins (35 goals) … Ties 7