Minnesota United vs. San Jose Earthquakes Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 7/3/21
Minnesota United welcomes the San Jose Earthquakes to Allianz Field in Minnesota on Saturday night. Minnesota is off to one of their better starts in their young history, sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference on 14 points in ten games. For San Jose, it’s been much more of a struggle than it was last season, sitting all the way in 11th place on only ten points in 11 games. The two teams last met last season, with Minnesota taking both games by a combined score of 9-3. Minnesota also won both meetings in 2019 with an aggregate score of 6-1, with San Jose’s last win in the series coming back in 2018. Minnesota hasn’t lost since teams came back from break and another win at home can only help keep the confidence going into the summer.
Minnesota Continues Strong Run
Minnesota is coming off an impressive 1-0 win on the road their last time out against a strong Portland team, and combining that with a draw on the road against Dallas and a 2-0 home win against Austin, have put together a nice run over the last few weeks. Travel might play a small part after playing three games in a week, two of those on the road, but Minnesota will definitely be happy to be back home. Saturday’s game against Portland saw Adrien Hunou score in the second minute and Minnesota put together a strong defensive run to limit Portland to only two shots on goal in the entire contest, despite allowing 22 shots total. Minnesota still has a negative goal differential on the year, thanks to a 4-0 loss in the opener to Seattle, and will need a complete performance to take all three points again on Saturday. Minnesota has three players out for the weekend due to international duty, with leading-scorer Robin Lod headlining the group.
Lod leads the team along with Hunou and Franco Fragapane, all with two goals, and will be missed in the attack this weekend. The good news for Minnesota is that they’ve continued to find ways to win, despite their stars coming into the season struggling to find their form. Wil Trapp was expected to be a massive addition to the lineup this season but has struggled to impact games consistently, with zero goals and zero assists on the year. If Minnesota can start to get him more involved and his confidence starts to take over, the sky could be the limit for this talented side.
A huge advantage for Minnesota continues to be Tyler Miller in the back at goalkeeper. The fringe US National Team member has been an integral part of the backline’s success this year. He’s been able to hold onto clean sheets in each of his last two starts and he also has a backline highlighted by Chase Gaspar to thank for that as well. While teams haven’t had many issues out possessing and outshooting Minnesota, they have struggled to make those shots count, typically getting very few on frame. That’s a dangerous recipe for success but if Minnesota can keep up the slim margins, they’ll find themselves continuing to rise in the standings.
Earthquakes Continue Hectic Travel Schedule
San Jose has had one of the more difficult travel schedules in the league since the return to play in the middle of June, and heading on the road to Minnesota United couldn’t have come at a worse time. San Jose traveled to Austin, then to Orlando on short rest, returned across the country for a home match, and now have another away match. The last time out, the Earthquakes dropped a 3-1 defeat to LA Galaxy and lost 5-0 the game before to Orlando City. Saturday’s game out west saw the Galaxy jump out to a 3-0 lead before Cade Cowell was able to find the back of the net in the 82nd minute. Besides the scoreline, it was a pretty even game played throughout, with both teams attempting 13 shots and three on goal, with San Jose winning the possession battle, 63 percent to 37 percent. A combination of more consistent defense and finishing is exactly what San Jose needs to try to salvage a point on the road on Saturday.
San Jose has dealt with injuries, travel, and now will have another game missing some key pieces. Marcos Lopez remains out with international duty, while two other players remain out. The good news though is that the offense looks healthy as ever and Cowell will look to continue his strong run of form, now leading the team with three goals after his latest tally the last time out. It’ll also be interesting to see what San Jose is able to get out of Jackson Yueill, who was just called into the Gold Cup roster and might not be able to give San Jose a full 90 minutes on Saturday. Seven different players have scored for San Jose so far on the year and even with some potential issues, this offense has plenty of depth to find the back of the net.
Fans should make sure to keep an eye out for the backline, as US National Team member and US Youth National Team star, JT Marcinkowski, should have plenty of opportunities to make some big saves and keep San Jose in the game. Add in Luciano Abecasis and Jacob Akanyirige out with injuries, and an already struggling back line has only thinned out more now. The Earthquakes have allowed eight goals in their last two games and if that number isn’t brought down, Saturday night could prove to be a tough game for the road team.
Pick: Minnesota (-165)
Minnesota comes into Saturday’s meeting as one of the hottest teams in soccer and as the home team, has a massive advantage. San Jose is in a brutal travel stretch right now and that’ll be an impact and shock to the system still early on in Saturday’s game as they find their legs having come off the plane. Beyond that, Minnesota has one of the best goalkeepers in the entire league and have found ways to win when they dominate and win when they struggle, which seems to be the mark of a good team, while San Jose has been consistent, but consistently at a level well below that of competing for the playoffs in all likelihood. Expect Minnesota’s unknown attacking core to make big plays and for Miller and his backline to lead to another shutout at home.
Pick: Over
In the last two games for San Jose, they’ve combined to allow eight total goals and have their defense in incredibly poor form. In addition, Minnesota United has typically fought in close and low-scoring battles but of late has seen their offense become stronger and stronger and more and more players becoming involved. With what will be both teams' fourth games in only the last few weeks, expect some sloppy play in the back and a few pieces of set piece magic. Both games last year went over four goals, along with both 2019 matchups going at least three goals. Expect the offenses to show up as they always do for this matchup.
