LAFC vs San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, May 28, 2022
3:00pm PT
Banc of California Stadium - Los Angeles, California
TV: UniMás, TUDN, Twitter
Radio: 710 AM ESPN, ESPN LA App, 980 AM La Mera Mera
It has been a busy month for the Black & Gold, with eight games in 28 days, two lengthy road trips and numerous injuries to recover from. The May portion of LAFC’s schedule comes to an end on Saturday against San Jose, with the Club looking to rebound from a difficult 3-1 elimination loss in the U.S. Open Cup to the Galaxy on Wednesday night in Carson. A win will help LAFC maintain the best record in MLS as the Black & Gold enters the FIFA International Break.
It will not be easy, as the Earthquakes are a dangerous team led by high-scoring Jeremy Ebobisse and MLS All-Star Cade Cowell. LAFC also enters the match shorthanded once again, as Carlos Vela exited the U.S. Open Cup match with a left quad injury after just 20 minutes, and defender Diego Palacios also was forced off due to a concussion in the first half.
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SAN JOSE IN-DEPTH
The Quakes play a 4-1-4-1 system and look to build their offense with short passes and a lot of movement from their midfielders and forwards. San Jose will attempt to string passing combinations together for Jackson Yueill and Jamiro Monteiro toward the LAFC goal, while relying on switches, crosses into the box and long shots from distance for their scoring creation.
Defensively, look for San Jose to step up aggressively to the ball when LAFC is in control, looking to cut off the Black & Gold’s passing lanes or winning the ball outright.
LAFC WILL WIN IF:
The Black & Gold can defend compactly as a unit and stop the San Jose counterattacks before they get into dangerous areas. If LAFC can unbalance the Quakes and create chances with accurate passing and quick movements toward their goal – they should create quality chances. LAFC will also look to expose San Jose on set pieces, as the Quakes lead the league in nine goals allowed on set pieces.
SAN JOSE CAN WIN IF:
They beat LAFC in attacking transition. San Jose has weapons – the Quakes boast a myriad of players with speed and technical ability to complete their counterattacks, and they have had success so far in 2022. San Jose is also dangerous on set pieces, tying for a league-high eight set piece goals scored so far this season.
Inspired by Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, a fighting game released by Capcom in 1992.
