Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Leagues Cup clash between CD Guadalajara and San Jose Earthquakes, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
CD Guadalajara and San Jose Earthquakes will be looking to make a winning start to their Leagues Cup journey when they lock horns at the Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
The hosts head into this one on a run of back to back victories while their visitors set out to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat.
Match preview
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San Jose Earthquakes came up well short in their meeting against Minnesota United which ended in a 2-0 loss at Allianz Arena on Sunday.
Ian Russell‘s men went into the break trailing to a Tanner Beason own goal before Bongokuhle Hlongwane sealed the deal 15 minutes from time.
Consequently, The Goonies remain rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference in the MLS table and are already 19 points shy of playoff contention.
On the menu next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who will be keen to make up for a disappointing Leagues Cup campaign last time out where they lost both of their group-stage matches.
Having been beaten in each of their last six matches away from home across all competitions, Sunday’s visitors have it all to do as they look to avoid another fruitless outing on the road.
Guadalajara claimed a second straight 2-0 victory as they saw off the threat of Mazatlan FC at Estadio Akron on Sunday.
Fernando Gago‘s men took the lead five minutes into the second period thanks to Cade Cowell before Armando Gonzalez put the result beyond doubt in the 79th minute.
With seven points amassed from four league matches this term, Los Rebano Sagrado sit seventh in the Liga MX table, just one outside the guaranteed playoff places.
Currently on a run of seven clean sheets from their last 10 home matches, Sunday’s hosts will be confident of keeping their visitors at bay en route to a positive outcome.
CD Guadalajara form (all competitions):
San Jose Earthquakes form (all competitions):
Team News
JT Marcinkowski and Jamar Ricketts remain sidelined with knee and groin injuries respectively and are unavailable for San Jose.
Daniel has not featured for the visitors since mid-March due to a shoulder problem, while Daniel Munie misses out with a head injury.
Cruz Medina, Emi Ochoa and Niko Tsakiris are all on international duty, ruling them out of contention to play any part this in this weekend’s affair.
Jesus Orozco was hauled off with an injury scare in Guadalajara’s victory over Mazatlan and the 22-year-old is a doubt to feature here.
Twenty-year-old Cade Cowell has found the back of the net in three straight outings for the visitors, making him one to keep an eye on.
CD Guadalajara possible starting lineup:
Rangel; Mozo, Sepulveda, Guzman, Chavez; Gonzalez, Alvarado; Beltran, Gutierrez, Cowell; Chicharito
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Story; Verhoeven, Rodrigues, Beason, Kikanovic; Gruezo, Yueill; Pellegrino, Lopez, Espinoza; Ebobisse
We say: CD Guadalajara 2-0 San Jose Earthquakes
Guadalajara are the more in-form side at the moment and coupled with the added advantage of playing on home turf, we are backing them to carry the day.
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