Sports Mole previews Sunday's Major League Soccer clash between Philadelphia Union and San Jose Earthquakes, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Philadelphia Union will look to continue their unbeaten start to the MLS season when they welcome San Jose Earthquakes to Subaru Park on Saturday.

The visitors, on the other hand, will bid to collect their first win of the campaign after picking up a point from their opening two fixtures.

Match preview

Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin enters the field before the game against CF Montreal at Olympic Stadium on March 5, 2022 © Reuters

Four points from their opening two matches will please Philadelphia Union boss Jim Curtin, who will be hoping that his side can claim back-to-back victories on Saturday.

Philadelphia began the campaign with a 1-1 draw at home against Minnesota United before they clinched their first victory of the season last weekend against Montreal.

Curtin's side fell behind in Canada following Lassi Lappalainen's opener, but two goals in three second-half minutes from Alejandro Bedoya and Daniel Gazdag ensured that the points would go home with the visitors.

After collecting three points last weekend, Curtin will be looking for his side to claim their first home victory of the season when they face San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.

Curtin will be fully aware of the importance of home matches if Philadelphia are to perform well in the Eastern Conference for a fourth consecutive season after finishing no lower than third in their last three campaigns.

San Jose Earthquakes head coach Matias Almeyda stands on the sideline during the first half against the Columbus Crew at PayPal Park on March 5, 2022 © Reuters

Meanwhile, San Jose Earthquakes have struggled to get out of the starting gates in their opening two matches, with Saturday's visitors still searching for their first victory of the season.

After suffering a 3-1 defeat at home to New York Red Bulls in their opening fixture, the Earthquakes took comfort from a battling home performance against Columbus Crew last weekend.

Cristian Espinoza opened the scoring from the spot to give the hosts an early lead, but their positive start turned to disaster, when Jamiro Monteiro was shown a straight red card in the 33rd minute.

With a numerical advantage, Columbus Crew raced into a 3-1 lead thanks to a Lucas Zelarayan brace and a Gyasi Zardes effort, but Francisco Calvo became San Jose's hero, striking in the 84th and the sixth minute of stoppage time to snatch a point for the hosts.

Buoyed by that 3-3 draw, the Earthquakes will now head on their travels for the first time this season, with Matias Almeyda hoping that his side can tighten up defensively after conceding six goals in their opening two matches.

Philadelphia Union Major League Soccer form:

San Jose Earthquakes Major League Soccer form:

Team News

Philadelphia Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya (11) celebrates his goal against CF Montréal during the second half at Olympic Stadium on March 5, 2022 © Reuters

The hosts will be without Julian Carranza, who will serve a one-match suspension after receiving a red card last weekend.

With Carranza suspended, Mikael Uhre could come into the side to partner Sergio Santos in the front two.

Meanwhile, Nathan Harriel is expected to retain his place in the backline after coming into the starting lineup for the victory against Montreal.

As for the visitors, Nathan and Shea Salinas are injury absentees, while Monteiro is suspended following his red card against Columbus Crew.

With Monteiro unavailable, Cade Cowell could return to the starting lineup after dropping to the bench last weekend.

Paul Marie came into the starting lineup for the Earthquakes' most recent outing, and he is expected to retain his place in the side for Saturday's contest.

Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Harriel, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner; Bedoya, Martinez, Flach, Gazdag; Santos, Uhre

San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Marcinkowski; Yueill, Calvo, Lopez; Marie, Gregus, Remedi, Cowell; Lopez, Espinoza, Ebobisse

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We say: Philadelphia Union 3-1 San Jose Earthquakes

This encounter represents the first meeting between the sides since 2019, and with Philadelphia gaining confidence from a promising start to the season, we think that the hosts will remain unbeaten with a victory on Saturday.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Philadelphia Union win with a probability of 53.2%. A draw had a probability of 24.3% and a win for San Jose Earthquakes had a probability of 22.49%.

The most likely scoreline for a Philadelphia Union win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.61%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.7%) and 2-1 (9.66%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.56%), while for a San Jose Earthquakes win it was 0-1 (6.92%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Philadelphia Union would win this match.