San Jose Earthquakes vs Real Salt Lake Prediction: Bet on goals market

On October 6, 2024, San Jose Earthquakes hosts Real Salt Lake in what can only be referred to as one of the high-stakes games in the MLS Western Conference. While San Jose remains stuck at 14th place and Real Salt Lake fights to ensure a playoff spot at 4th, both teams have highly different objectives in mind. It has been an uphill battle the entire season for San Jose, who have only managed 6 wins thus far, while Salt Lake have shown more consistency and boast 14 victories. However, recent form and tactical matchups may raise some surprises in this fixture.

San Jose Earthquakes have had a season to forget, losing 23 from 32 matches so far. They, however, secured a 3-2 home win in their last game against FC Dallas, showing some attacking promise in that match. Defensively, the Earthquakes have been leaking goals, conceding in 6 straight matches. Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake are trying to bounce back from a 0-0 home draw against Minnesota United in a match they had to play with 10 men following the red card given to Brayan Vera.

San Jose Earthquakes are likely to keep their 4-2-3-1 system that is based on central solidity and hitting teams on the break. The attack in recent matches has gotten sharper, as evident in the 3-2 win over Dallas. However, their defense is a weak link because they let in goals far too easily, especially in transitions. San Jose relies on long balls 39% of the time and crosses 27%, which could indicate a direct approach to break Salt Lake down, especially targeting defensive vulnerabilities as Salt Lake will be serving a red card suspension.

Salt Lake are unbeaten in their last four, although three of those have been draws, suggesting an underlying inability to put away chances. Both sides are known to play very open, end-to-end fixtures, and recent matches between the two have regularly had over 2.5 goals.

Real Salt Lake also tend to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but with a more balanced and possession-based style of play, as reflected in their 57% possession against Minnesota. Salt Lake have been good at controlling midfield and exploiting space, particularly in those games where they've held the numerical advantage in duels and defensive tackles. Without Brayan Vera, the Salt Lake defense might be content to soak up much more pressure than usual and invite counters from San Jose. The reliance could be heavy on midfield control to disrupt the attacks of San Jose and dictate the pace of the game.

Historically, San Jose has been on top of Salt Lake in this fixture, winning 9 out of the previous 20 to Salt Lake's 5. They last played in August 2024 as San Jose managed a 2-0 win away from home. While that has been the case, head-to-head trends in recent times suggest that both teams tend to engage in high-scoring affairs; indeed, 6 out of their last 8 meetings have ended with over 2.5 goals and both teams finding the back of the net. Salt Lake has also struggled for clean sheets, conceding in 4 straight games against San Jose, a record which will give the Earthquakes some hope going into this one.

So, all things considered-form and head-to-head history, along with tactical approaches-these two teams can be expected to create goals and engage in an aggressive tactical battle. San Jose's defensive weaknesses should be laid bare by Salt Lake's organized possession game, although Salt Lake's recent lack of finishing power and absence of a key defender may leave them open to the same happening.

There have been goals scored and conceded for San Jose in most recent games, while Salt Lake's defensive vulnerabilities allow them to play an open game.

• 3 Way Total Over 3 Goals @ 2.099 Odds
• GG + Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.6 Odds
• Goal Range 2-4 @ 1.6 Odds