The latest round of matches in the 2023 Major League Soccer season sees San Jose Earthquakes entertain the challenge of Nashville SC at PayPal Park on Sunday.
Both teams are firmly in contention for a place in the playoffs, meaning neither will want to come away empty-handed from this weekend's encounter.
Match preview
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San Jose Earthquakes saw their three-game unbeaten streak come to an end against Portland Timbers in a 2-1 defeat at Providence Park on Thursday.
Luchi Gonzalez's men found themselves down by two thanks to strikes either side of half time from Cristhian Paredes and Evander after which Matthew Hoppe pulled one back.
As a result, the Goonies have dropped down to seventh place in the Western Conference of the MLS table, one point clear in the race for the final playoff spot.
Awaiting them next is the task of taking on an opposing outfit against whom both of the previous two meetings have ended in a share of the spoils.
Ahead of a crunch encounter against Minnesota United seven days later, Sunday's hosts will be keen to remain in charge of their postseason fate by securing maximum points here.
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Nashville snapped a run of consecutive stalemates by claiming a 3-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City at the Children's Mercy Park on Thursday.
Gary Smith's men took the lead just shy of the half-hour mark through Fafa Picault before second-half goals from Hany Mukhtar and Jack Maher sealed the deal.
Having amassed 43 points from their 28 matches so far, the Boys In Gold sit seventh in the standings, six points clear of nearest challengers CF Montreal.
Unbeaten in five of their most recent six away involvements, Sunday's visitors have proven themselves to be a tough nut to crack on the road of late.
Team News
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Having been an unused substitute for three straight matches, San Jose's Matthew Hoppe found the back of the net on his return to the starting lineup and is expected to retain his place in the XI.
Nathan remains out of contention for the home side due to a knee injury which has seen him fail to feature since the back end of last season.
Jack Skahan has missed five games in a row due to a muscle problem, but the American is drawing increasingly closer to his return to action.
Hany Mukhtar has been directly involved in 24 of Nashville's 35 goals this term, making the midfielder one to keep an eye on this weekend.
Twenty-eight-year-old Nick DePuy continues to battle with a ruptured Achilles tendon and is still a considerable off way making a comeback.
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Marie, Beason, Rodrigues, Akapo; Monteiro, Yueill, Gruezo; Hoppe, Ebobisse, Espinoza
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Lovitz, Maher, Zimmerman, Moore; Godoy, McCarty, Davis; Muyl, Picault, Mukhtar
We say: San Jose Earthquakes 1-2 Nashville SC
The sides boast similar attacking records heading into this one, but Nashville have been the better team defensively and consequently, we fancy them to emerge triumphant from what should be an open and end-to-end contest.
How to watch
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