Real Salt Lake City vs. San Jose Earthquakes Prediction, Preview and Odds - 5/7/21

Real Salt Lake will be looking to build on a pair of wins to open the season when it hosts San Jose on Friday night. The Earthquakes are coming off consecutive wins of their own, including a 4-1 victory in their last match. Real Salt Lake picked up a 3-1 win over Sporting KC last weekend.

San Jose will now get tested on the road

San Jose has won its first two home matches for the first time since 2017. It opened the season with a 2-1 loss at Houston, but it bounced back with a 3-1 win over Dallas. The Earthquakes built on that match with a 4-1 win against DC United last weekend. They were led by Jackson Yueill, who scored a pair of goals in the win. Cade Cowell, a standout 17-year-old, scored a goal and tallied two assists. Javier Eduardo Lopez also scored his first goal in the MLS for the Earthquakes. They were facing a DC United squad that was without 12 players due to various injuries.

Cowell has two goals and three assists in three starts this season. He made four starts last season, but he has taken over as the starter at center forward in replacement of veteran Chris Wondolowski. The top prospect for the United States national team is becoming a superstar in the making. San Jose is currently ranked No. 10 in the MLS in the updated power rankings from MLS.com’s J. Sam Jones. The Earthquakes are second in the Western Conference, but they do not have a clean sheet yet. However, they have lost nine of their last 11 road matches.

Real Salt Lake rolling to start the season

Real Salt Lake is the only Western Conference team that has not lost or drawn in a match this season. It opened the season with a 2-1 win over Minnesota United and followed it up with a 3-1 win against Sporting Kansas City last week. Sporting Kansas City took an early lead on a first-half goal, but it gave up three consecutive goals after that. Real Salt Lake got a pair of second-half goals from Rubio Rubin. The team finished with a 10-6 advantage in total shots and a 4-1 lead in shots on goal.

This has been a surprising start for a Real Salt Lake team that finished No. 21 in the MLS last season. Coach Freddy Juarez has been able to get the most from his team to open the season, though. Rubin has added a pair of assists in the first two matches of the year and Anderson Julio has two goals. Real Salt Lake, like San Jose, does not have a clean sheet in its two matches. San Jose has won 13 of the previous 35 head-to-head meetings between these teams, with 11 of those ending in draws. The Earthquakes picked up a 2-0 win in the most recent contest against Real Salt Lake.

Side: Spread (San Jose +0.5)

This feels like the kind of betting line where one side is relying upon one factor to be correct. The only way Real Salt Lake should be a minus-money favorite is based upon San Jose’s struggles away from home. Outside of that issue, San Jose has looked like the better team this season. The Earthquakes have one of the most exciting young players in the MLS on their roster and are playing excellent attacking soccer. Real Salt Lake is a little overrated based on its preseason expectations. I expect San Jose to snap its road losing skid on Friday night and at least come away with a point.

Total: (Over 3)

This might wind up being one of the most exciting MLS matches of the week, which works out perfectly since it is a standalone Friday night match. Neither team has been great defensively, with both sides failing to record a clean sheet. They rely on offensive attacks that have not been slowed down through the first three weeks. San Jose has scored seven goals in 180 minutes of action. The shaky back lines make this a solid play to go over the total. Cowell has been picking apart opposing defenses to open the season.

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Blake Von Hagen

Blake is a lifelong sports fan and hoops junkie. Prior to joining our team at Winners & Whiners and StatSalt, Blake worked for several newspapers and websites. He enjoys combining his beat writing expertise with the knack for finding the winning edge in a matchup. Blake is also an avid sports being expert and you would not be disappointed in following him on a daily basis. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.


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