Sporting Kansas City vs San Jose Earthquakes Prediction, Preview, And Odds - 7/21/21
The San Jose Earthquakes head to Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City this Wednesday night to take on Sporting Kansas City for the second time in 2021, as the MLS season goes on with plenty of intriguing midweek action. Back in May, Sporting outlasted the Quakes as a slight road fave, 3-1, so let’s see what’s the best Kansas City vs. San Jose betting pick for July 21, 2021, with the kick-off at 8:30 PM ET.
The Wizards are on a three-game winning streak
Sporting Kansas City returns to action after playing its last game on Independence Day. The Wizards extended their win streak to three games with a nice 2-0 victory at LA Galaxy, scoring a couple of goals in the final ten minutes of the second half.
Kansas City overtook the Galaxy in the Western Conference standings, so the Wizards are now the No. 2 seed with 26 points on their tally (W8, D2, L3), trailing three points behind the Seattle Sounders. Sporting owns the highest-scoring offense in the MLS, bagging 24 goals across 13 games, while their xG of 25.4 is the best in the league as well.
Winger Daniel Salloi is the Wizards’ best player this season. The 25-year-old Hungarian has scored seven goals in 13 outings, and he’s the team’s leading assist-maker with four dishes. Striker Alan Pulido has six goals in 11 appearances, while the 19-year-old midfielder Gianluca Busio has accounted for a couple of goals and assists in 13 games, establishing himself as the best option in the middle of the park for head coach Peter Vermes.
The Quakes are winless in nine straight games
San Jose has been a disaster since May 12 when they started a nine-game winless streak, recording three draws and six losses in the process. At least, the Quakes are undefeated in their previous two showings, coming off a 1-1 tie at Colorado this past Saturday. They broke the deadlock after just 11 minutes of play but couldn’t hold on in the second half.
The Quakes are sitting at the 11th spot of the Western Conference standings with just 12 points out of their first 13 games (W3, D3, L7). They’ve scored 15 goals in the process while yielding a whopping 23 in a return.
The 17-year-old wonderkid Cade Cowell leads the way for the Quakes with four goals and four assists in 13 outings. Cowell has been terrific as of late, tallying a pair of goals and one assist in his last three games. Loanee Javier Lopez is doing a solid job in the middle of the park, accounting for three goals and one assist in 13 apps, while the 38-year-old legendary striker Chris Wondolowski added a couple of goals, mostly coming off the bench.
The Winner Prediction
The Wizards will undoubtedly take an attacking approach, and considering the Quakes’ defensive woes, I’m expecting the hosts to get three points here. Kansas City leads the MLS in total shots (218), while the Wizards are second in shots on target (73). They should have enough firepower to score a few goals and beat San Jose.
Sporting has won four of its last five home games, scoring 12 goals in the process and yielding five in a return which tells you enough about how efficient the Wizards have been at home lately. On the other side, San Jose has recorded three draws and a pair of losses in its previous five road tilts, scoring three goals in the process and yielding nine in a return.
The Pick: Sporting Kansas City to Win
The Total Prediction
Take the Over 2.5 Goals if you’re looking for -200 odds, as the Wizards and Quakes should produce at least three goals in this one. I wouldn’t be surprised if the hosts score three on their own.
Also, Kansas City failed to record a clean sheet in four straight outings at home, while five of their previous six games at Children’s Mercy Park saw three or more goals on the scoreboard. The Quakes, on the other side, have found the net in their last two road games, so they’ll look to stay on the right path, trying to finally put an end to their winless streak.
