Jack Collins here from The Game Day to look at a battle of Saints of sorts this weekend as St. Louis makes the trip down to California to face off against San Jose.
Both suffered heavy losses in midweek, but with just two points separating the two sides in the West, there is plenty to play for at the weekend, as the tightening pack in the playoff places looks to get even more interesting.
San Jose Earthquakes vs. St. Louis CITY Odds
San Jose Earthquakes vs. St. Louis CITY betting lines are current as of Thursday, June 22, at 9 a.m. ET and were found at bet365 Sportsbook.
- San Jose (+105) • Tie (+275) • St. Louis (+230)
- Total Goals: Over 2.5 (-150) • Under 2.5 (+115)
- Both Teams To Score: Yes (-163) • No (+120)
San Jose Earthquakes vs. St. Louis CITY Union Match Prediction
San Jose Earthquakes 2:1 St. Louis CITY
It’s been a couple of weeks since St. Louis has come crashing back down to Earth in quite a remarkable fashion. Sky-high, cruising, and top of the West just a fortnight ago, they find themselves on a four-match winless streak that has seen LAFC leapfrog them at the top of the Conference and has included four dropped points at home against RSL and struggling Galaxy.
They’re still, by anybody’s standards, having an incredible rookie campaign - second in the Western Conference, ahead of the mighty Seattle with a game in hand, and with the best goal difference to boot, but this is the first proper testing period the club have been through this season.
Much of the apprehension comes from the injuries to both of their Designated Players, with Klauss and Eduard Löwen both sidelined for the coming few weeks. And while Nicholas Gioacchini is filling in admirably for the former, taking his tally up to eight for the season in the loss to Real Salt Lake, it’s the deeper position that Löwen has made his own that will be causing severe headaches for head coach Bradley Carnell.
There is no natural replacement for the German in Carnell’s squad - with former Aston Villa man Indiana Vassilev dropping deeper in their last game to try and fill the gap. Vassilev has been excellent this campaign, and he’s played in the pivot before, but it’s not a position that truly gets the best out of his skill set.
St. Louis is also starting to look leggy. They fired out of the blocks quickly and did so again on Wednesday, but by the time the team reaches the midpoint of the second half, there are clear signs of fatigue starting to set in.
That’s natural - it’s been a heavy run of fixtures at this point in the schedule, but Carnell’s post-match comments, where he pointed to the fact that RSL also had several players missing, and that couldn’t be used as an excuse, pointed to perhaps a more stark truth - that the depth just isn’t quite there yet for an expansion side.
The Quakes also suffered a heavy loss midweek, as Houston thumped them 4-1 in Texas. It was the end of an impressive five-game unbeaten streak for San Jose, which had seen big wins against both Seattle and Philadelphia, but they remain comfortably in the playoff spots and will leapfrog their opponents if they win back at home this weekend.
That home form may be crucial in this one. The Quakes are unbeaten in nine games at PayPal Park, with six wins and three draws, and have outscored their opponents 13 to 5 in that run. In fact, they’ve won just once away from home this season, and the fortress mentality in California has fueled this run up the table in the West.
The 2-1 home win has been their signature result - against Vancouver, Houston, LAFC, and the Union. Those results, plus the win over Seattle, show that San Jose have absolutely no trouble going up against the better sides in MLS, and while there hasn’t been a deluge of goals and consistency has been a bit of an issue, there is plenty to like about Luchi Gonzalez’s side.
Christian Espinoza has rounded into the goal-scoring winger he has threatened to be for a few seasons, Cade Cowell’s return has been a bonus, and Jeremy Ebobisse’s seven goals and all-around center-forward play is nothing to sniff at. They are a complementary front three that can cause problems for any opponent in this league.
So with that in mind and St. Louis’ key injury concerns rolling over, the signs point to the unbeaten record holding up again in San Jose.
San Jose Earthquakes vs. St. Louis CITY Best Bet
San Jose to Win (+105) • bet365 Sportsbook
An unbeaten home record, an opponent struggling to deal with the loss of some essential component parts, and a Quakes front three as exciting as any we’ve seen in a while means the home win feels like a sensible option.
Both Teams to Score: Yes (-163) • bet365 Sportsbook
While a Quakes win looks likely, St. Louis doesn’t often go games without getting themselves on the scoresheet. They haven’t been shut out since Matchweek 12, and only four times overall in 19 games this season.
Add to that Gioacchini’s scoring record of late, and both sides scoring seems a good bet.
