Quakes look to get back on track at Galaxy

The San Jose Earthquakes will look to prevent another downturn and get back to their winning ways when they hit the road Wednesday to face the Los Angeles Galaxy for the second time in less than two weeks.

The Earthquakes (5-7-5, 20 points) are coming off a 3-0 road defeat to the Portland Timbers on Saturday, but prior to that they were on a three-game winning streak.

San Jose's previous three-game winning streak came at the MLS is Back Tournament in late July, but the Quakes fell on hard times soon after, going on an 0-6-3 run. The first defeat in that stretch came in the knockout round of the tournament against Minnesota United.

The Earthquakes defeated the Galaxy 2-1 at home on Oct. 3, after the teams played to a 0-0 tie in the Bay Area on Sept. 13.

The Galaxy had their game with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday postponed after a Rapids player tested positive for COVID-19.

"We know the Galaxy will be well-rested since their last game was postponed," said Earthquakes coach Matias Almeyda, whose team enters after a run of four games in 14 days. "It will be a benefit to them, but we will try to play that match to the best of our abilities."

The last-place Galaxy (4-8-3, 15 points) expect to win with forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez on the field at some point. He did not play in last week's 6-3 defeat to the Timbers as he was away for the birth of his child.

Chicharito missed a chunk of time this season due to a calf injury, and in the eight games he has played, the Galaxy are 0-6-2. The acclaimed Mexican striker has just one goal.

The team's most positive stretch, a four-game winning streak, came when Chicarito was out with his injury. But Los Angeles is 0-5-1 since, and the defeats have come in the past five games.

The Galaxy played last week without defender Rolf Fletscher and midfielder Jonathan dos Santos, who were away on international duty. Julian Araujo and Ethan Zubak got playing time and scored goals.

"We've got to find a way to claw ourselves out of the hole that we're in," Galaxy midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. "We've kind of lost our way a bit. We need to find our way back. If we win one game, I know we can go on a winning streak again."

--Field Level Media