By Felix Peterson @_felixpetersson
The San Jose Earthquakes (1-1) look to win their second match of the season as it faces unbeaten New York City FC (3-0-1) at Avaya Stadium Saturday night.
San Jose has opened this season with two tightly contested 3-2 games, winning one and losing one.
New York City on the other hand, has outscored its opponents 8-3 on the season.
The offense for the Earthquakes has been sharp. Midfielder Vako Qazaishvili has led the ‘Quakes thus far with two goals and an assist and will certainly be someone NYC prepares for.
Another player to note is team captain Chris Wondolowski, who scored his 135th career goal in the 91st minute in Kansas City, now No. 2 on San Jose’s all-time goals list.
Stiker David Villa leads the FC charge and easily has the power to tire and challenge the Earthquake defense. Villa was last season’s top scorer in the entire MLS. Through four games this season however, Villa has found the back on the net only once.
He sat out last game against New England because of an injury, but should be ready to go Saturday. Earthquake defenders need to be careful giving the Spaniard any chances near the penalty area.
New York City FC is one of the favorites to win the title this year, but what speaks for San Jose is its home record. They lost just two matches at Avaya Stadium all of last season.
The last time the FC visited San Jose was in 2016, and that match ended 0-0 draw. Last year’s battle however, New York won 2-1 at home.
The match kicks off at 5 p.m.