Western Clash: Chicago Fire at San Jose Earthquakes Match 22 Preview

After a midweek win at home, the Fire return to the road for their final Western Conference matchup of the regular season to take on the San Jose Earthquakes, the team that has far and away the worst record in Major League Soccer, and who are just two matches – both losses – removed from firing their coach.

It won’t be the only change on the sidelines: Fire Head Coach Frank Klopas won’t be in the Fire’s dugout after receiving a red card for entering the playing area against the Union midweek.

Series History

All time: 16W-11D-14LLast Match: July 3, 2022: San Jose 2-1 Fire at PayPal Park, San Jose, Ca.

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San Jose

It’s been a miserable season for the Quakes. Their most recent win was May 11th against the Colorado Rapids; a week before, they managed a surprise win against Los Angeles FC. It wouldn’t be a start of a trend: Their only point since was a draw against Austin on May 25th, and LAFC avenged their 3-1 loss by dealing San Jose a 6-2 loss on June 22nd, a performance that cost head coach Luchi González his job. A week later, in the first match under Interim Head Coach Ian Russell, the team faced the LA Galaxy and lost 3-0, before losing to St. Louis 2-0 midweek. So much for the new manager bump.

Fire

The Fire once again had a lead, gave up a goal and conceded a penalty to put the team behind at half. Then the team conceded again early in the second half. Familiar, perhaps, but then the story changed when Hugo Cuypers scored a brace starting in the 82nd minute and concluding early in stoppage time, which combined with Gastón Giménez’s goal in the 89th minute, gave the Fire a 4-3 win. It’s their second come-from-behind victory with that scoreline this season. Still: The team’s lone win away from Soldier Field this season came June 15th against Toronto, though they have tallied four draws on the road.

The Storyline

The Fire picked themselves off the mat with a come-from-behind victory over the Philadelphia Union. In previous seasons, that would have been a major accomplishment, but in 2024, the Union have been in a tailspin. Still, the Fire’s victory again puts them just three points out of a postseason spot. The odds are still stacked against the Fire – realistically, only the 7th, 8th and 9th spots in the East are up for grabs for the Fire and other teams on the periphery of the postseason, and no team in the East is truly out of contention, with D.C. United and the Union just one point behind the Fire.

That is nine teams vying for three spots, and the Fire aren’t favored in this game of musical chairs. A number of things will have to change for the Fire to make the postseason. One of those: With just six home games left on the year, the team will need to start getting victories on the road.

They will not get a better opportunity than Sunday against the San Jose Earthquakes, a team that is currently on a six-game losing streak as part of a nine game unbeaten run stretching back to the middle of May, during which time the team has managed a sole draw. The Quakes performed the first step in the “things aren’t going well” maneuver and fired their manager: Luchi González was dismissed following the team’s 6-2 loss at the hands of Los Angeles FC on June 22nd.

Since then, the team has played two matches, failed to score and notched two more losses. Things are rough in San Jose, but ripe for a Fire result. A victory would be the second road win on the year for the Fire, something the team will need to do a lot more of if they are to make the playoffs.

By the time the Fire kick off in San Jose (mercifully, for a game on the west coast, at 7:30PM Central Time), they will know whether a victory will be enough to put the team level on points with a postseason spot: All of the other teams in contention play Saturday night. The chance that all five teams ahead of them in the standings fail to pick up a point are remote, but not impossible.

The match is the last of the regular season against a Western Conference opponent for the Fire, and a victory would level their inter-conference series on the year with an even three wins and three losses.

San Jose Players to Watch

Amahl Pellegrino: Pellegrino was brought in to bolster San Jose’s offense from Bodø after the Norwegian club topped the league table in 2023. So far, he’s paced the team with five goals in just over 1,100 minutes. It isn’t the production San Jose expected from the Norwegian player, but he’s also not far off the mark. If San Jose is able to turn their season around – admittedly, an unlikely prospect at this stage – there’s a good chance that he will be a central figure in the recovery.

Jeremy Ebobisse: Ebobisse was born in France but immigrated with his family to the United States at a young age and represented the United States during his time as a youth international. Since joining the Quakes from the Portland Timbers in 2021, he’s been one of their best attacking threats. He’s had double digit goals each of the past two seasons, and his 17 goals in 2022 paced the team. He’s tallied just four times so far this year, but like Pellegrino, is one of the key figures who you’d expect to score if the team is able to turn their season around.

Fire Keys to Victory

• We just talked about this: Coming into Wednesday’s match against Philadelphia, I said that the team needed to be smarter in the box because bad choices by Chris Brady’s teammates meant the Fire goalkeeper had to face down three penalty shots in two matches. That includes Brady, who lost control of the ball well off his line as the Union’s Nathan Harriel was bearing down on him and decided to tackle the Union defender. Three games in a row, three players pulling rugby moves in the box, three goals against. Jonathan Dean was on his way into the box and had a good chance of beating Harriel to the ball. At worst, if Brady let him go, it was maybe a 50/50 shot for a Union goal. Instead, it was a penalty kick which became a goal, alongside a yellow card for the Fire keeper. Of the 21 matches the Fire have played so far, 13 have ended with a goal difference of one or less. Giving away penalty shots means giving away points.
• Be careful what you wish for: When the results weren’t coming in for the Fire earlier this season, a lot of Fire fans took to social media wanting to see someone other than Frank Klopas behind the team’s bench. Well: Wish granted, at least for a match. Frank Klopas entered the field of play in second-half stoppage time and was given a red card and a one-game suspension as a result. After the game, Klopas insisted it was unintentional:, saying “it’s not like I wanted to run onto the field, and I apologized for that.” Assistant Coach Paulo Nagamura will take his place against the Earthquakes. The Brazilian was head coach of the Houston Dynamo in 2022 and his Dynamo teams won both contests against the Quakes, featuring many players who remain today, during that season.

Panel Predictions

Alex Calabrese

Chicago are scoring goals, San Jose aren't. A clean sheet might be one step too far, though.

Prediction: San Jose 1-3 Fire

Tim Hotze

This is a game that the Fire should be able to win on the road. They’re more skilled at basically every position on the pitch, they’re starting to play with clear ideas of what it is they want to do, and they should expect that if they do their jobs, they’ll come back with three points. It’s really just that simple.

Prediction: San Jose 1-3 Fire

Matt Shabelman

Prediction: San Jose 1-3 Fire

Match Information and How to Watch

Date and Time: Sunday, July 7, 2024, 7:30 PM CTLocation: PayPal Park, San Jose, Ca.Forecast: 88’F expected at kickoff, winds at 12 mph, 0% cloud cover and no chance of precipitationTV: Apple TV – Free