SAN JOSE – It’s difficult for a team that is 4-19-2 record in league play to have momentum, but most teams with that record don’t have a win over Mexican powerhouse Chivas on their resume.
Coming off a victory on Saturday over the Liga MX club in penalty kicks, the Earthquakes will take on their MLS table-topping rival Los Angeles Galaxy in the second group stage game of the Leagues Cup.
The competition, which includes both MLS and Liga MX teams, was won by Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami last season.
Helping San Jose’s cause will be certainly a more robust number of supporters at PayPal Park to cheer on the South Bay team in the California Clasico. The Quakes were seemingly outnumbered 99-1 by Chivas fans at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday.
Chivas might have a bigger brand, but Los Angeles (14-5-7) is in the Mexican team’s galaxy when it comes to talent. .
Los Angeles leads the MLS in goals scored for a good reason. One look at their roster reveals prodigious attacking options.
Dejan Joveljić leads the team with 12 goals, and 23-year-old Gabriel Chaves has 10 goals and a team-high nine assists.
Riqui Puig, the onetime Barcelona wonderkid who fell out of favor with the Catalan giants, has revived his career in SoCal. Puig has bagged eight goals and handed out five assists.
The Galaxy beat San Jose 3-1 in March, 4-3 in April and 3-0 in June.
San Jose’s oft-maligned backline (61 goals allowed in MLS play), led by Vitor Costa and Tanner Beason, proved that it can handle elite attackers in the victory over Chivas.
The Quakes will try to show that wasn’t a fluke on Wednesday.
