The Seattle Sounders visit the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday in their third of four regular-season matches. Here is everything you need to know.
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WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. PT at Earthquakes Stadium in San Jose, Calif.
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be televised on JOEtv and Prime Video.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air on 1090 KJR AM and El Rey 1360 AM.
2020 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 9-4-3 (30 points, 1st West), Earthquakes: 6-7-5 (23 points, 7th West)
FORM GUIDE (most recent first): Seattle: LWWWL, San Jose: WLWWW
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 12-10-7 all time against the Earthquakes, including a 3-5-5 mark on the road.
PREVIOUS MEETING: Seattle had the game of its season, scoring a club-record seven goals in a 7-1 walloping at CenturyLink Field in September. The Sounders scored all seven goals in the first hour, with Jordan Morris, Raúl RuidÃaz (twice), Kelvin Leerdam, Joevin Jones (twice) and João Paulo all finding the back of the net.
UNBEATEN STREAK: The Sounders haven’t lost to San Jose in their last 11 matches (6-0-5) dating back to 2015.
MISSING INTERNATIONALS: RuidÃaz (Peru), Gustav Svensson (Sweden) and Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador) will all miss their third straight match while away on international duty.
EXTRA REST: The Sounders caught some additional recovery time this week after their match against the Colorado Rapids was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests within the Rapids’ camp. The game would have been Seattle’s fourth in just 11 days.
LODEIRO LOCKED IN: Sounders No. 10 Nicolás Lodeiro is in incredible form, having scored or assisted in 10 of the last 12 matches. He has five goals and eight assists in that span, and his eight assists on the season are tied for second in MLS.
STAYING ON TOP: Seattle has a chance to extend its Western Conference lead, as the Portland Timbers (loss), Sporting Kansas City (draw) and LAFC (loss) all dropped points midweek. The Sounders are tied on points with Portland but own a better goal differential and have a match in hand.
SAN JOSE SURGING: After looking dead in the water a few weeks ago when they hadn’t won in eight matches and were outscored 28-7, the Earthquakes have all of a sudden won four out of their last five matches to get themselves into a playoff position.
DEFENSIVE UPSWING: Much of the Earthquakes’ resurgence has come as a result of strong defensive performances. Despite conceding what is still a league-worst 43 goals this season, San Jose has only allowed five goals in its last five matches, including two shutouts.
RIOS RISING: ‘Quakes forward Andy Rios has been a huge factor in their recent run of form. After not scoring in his previous 10 matches, the 31-year-old Argentine has three goals and an assist in his last four matches and has a club-high five goals in 2020.
