MATCH PREVIEW
Montreal Impact played much better against New York than they had in recent matches but the result was the same. The club fell by 1-0 and ran their winless streak to four matches. The attack was dangerous and creating chances but were unable to finish. Midfielder Ignacio Piatti had the best chances but was turned away several times by New York’s goalkeeper.
Now the trick is to get some of that motivation back at home. Montreal have struggled at home recently, losing three and drawing one in their last four home games. Montreal have just two home dates left and need to play with more urgency before the playoffs arrive.
San Jose meanwhile were done in at home by an inconsistent Sporting KC side, losing by 2-1. San Jose have not shown much urgency this season at all and the club is simply playing out the remaining games without playoff hopes now. San Jose’s offense is the club’s weak point, with just two goals in their last five matches. San Jose cannot win many games that way.
San Jose have done poorly on the road as well, scoring just seven goals in their last 10 road games. The attack lacks creativity and there is not enough players talented enough to take control of a match.
Montreal have quite a bit left to play for and will use that as motivation to get a result.
Montreal will win the match.
Reason For Betting Tips
Montreal Impact’s race for the MLS Supporters Shield is now officially over after their brief glimpse of the top spot. They were just a few points off the lead in the MLS Eastern Conference with multiple games in hand, but a very poor run of results has seen them plummet down the table. Now their focus is simply on remaining in the playoff positions.
They come into this match down in 5th position in the MLS Eastern Conference, 11 points adrift of leaders New York Red Bulls and 15 points behind overall MLS leaders FC Dallas, with just four games left to play. More worryingly, below them 7th placed New England Revolution are just two points adrift, with Orlando City only four points behind as well.
Montreal Impact are also in very poor form, as previously mentioned. Their 1-0 defeat at New York Red Bulls at the weekend made it four games without a win for them, and they have lost five, drawn two, and won just one of their last eight outings in the MLS.
Fortunately for the hosts, their visitors aren’t in the best shape either. San Jose Earthquakes lost 2-1 at home to Sporting Kansas City at the weekend to make it six games without victory for them. They have won just one of their last ten outings in the MLS and have lost three of their last six.
This puts them down in 9th position in the MLS Western Conference, and time is rapidly running out for them to lay claim to a playoff spot. They are currently seven points adrift of 6th placed Portland Timbers but with two games in hand on them. It’s not an impossibility yet, but based on their current form, that looks like it is too big a height to climb in the remaining games.
To put it bluntly, both of these teams look shocking at the moment. Montreal Impact have lost five of their last eight at home and conceded 11 goals in their last four matches there. However, I can’t see San Jose Earthquakes getting a win from anywhere at the moment, and they’ve only won one away game all season.
The visitors have managed to score in four of their last seven trips away though, and considering Montreal Impact have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 home games in the MLS, I would expect San Jose Earthquakes to get on the score-sheet. Montreal Impact have scored in all but two of their home games this season though, so backing Both Teams to Score at 7/10 looks a good backing to me. I’m going for a 1-1 correct score prediction at 11/2 as well.
Head To Head
Montreal Impact have won three, drawn two, and lost one of their six previous meetings with San Jose Earthquakes.
Stats
Both teams have scored in 67% of Montreal Impact's home matches and 64% of San Jose Earthquakes' trips away this season.
Team News
Right midfielder Andres Romero remains Montreal Impact's only injury concern heading into this clash.
Goalkeeper Bryan Meredith, centre back Clarence Goodson, midfielder Marc Pelosi, and striker Steven Lenhard remain injured for the visitors.
