Sporting Kansas City vs San Jose Earthquakes Prediction & Betting Tips - Major League Soccer

Prediction published on 24/10/2023, 16:44  by Joseph King | Modified on 24/10/2023 at 17:18 in Major League Soccer Predictions

The Western Conference play-in game sees eighth-place Sporting KC hosting ninth-place San Jose to determine the final participant in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The winner of this matchup earns the right to take on first-seed St. Louis City SC in the first round. Sporting finished the season strongly to secure the eighth seed in what was a very congested Western Conference. A 3-1 home win over Minnesota on the final day capped off a run of three victories from their final four league fixtures. The hosts have their performances at Children’s Mercy Park to thank for their playoff appearance as they took 12 points from the final 15 available at home. They’ll now need to come up with the magic once more in front of the home crowd to make the MLS Cup Playoffs proper for the 11th time in the past 13 seasons. 

Unlike their opponents, the Earthquakes did not end the season on a winning run. In fact, San Jose remarkably finished the campaign with four consecutive 1-1 draws, the most recent of which was against Austin. The Goonies went cold in the final two months of the regular season as they racked up only a single win during that time. Luchi Gonzalez’s team were hard to beat, although they had trouble turning draws into wins. In their final 10 matches, San Jose recorded only one victory, six draws and three defeats. The difference between their home and away performance was stark, which certainly paints an ominous picture ahead of this fixture. The visitors had a mirrored home and away record, going 8-7-2 at home compared to 2-7-8 on their travels. The Earthquakes also managed a goal differential of -13 on the road compared to +9 on home soil.