It's rematch time in the shadow of the Big Apple, as the San Jose Earthquakes return to Red Bull Arena for the first time since stunning the New York Red Bulls 3-1 in the 2010 MLS Cup playoffs. Courtesy of Bobby Convey's best MLS game as a Quake and a Chris Wondolowski late game winning goal, San Jose left the Red Bull Galacticos scratching their collective heads after losing a playoff series that most ha predicted in their favor. Fast forward to today, and both teams have made line-up changes from that early November game. Wins have been a short supply for both sides in the opening weeks of the 2011 regular season, and they will be pressing hard for the three points up for grabs tonight in Harrison, New Jersey.
Following the Earthquakes 1-1 draw with Toronto FC, Head Coach Frank Yallop has been using the same starting line-up in training all this week. The only change that seems remotely possible at this point is the potential inclusion of Scott Sealy for Ryan Johnson, which would in effect drop Wondolowski to right mid and shift Bobby Convey back to left mid to allow the natural striker to station himself up top:
Chris Wondolowski
Ryan Johnson Bobby Convey
Khari Stephenson Simon Dawkins
Sam Cronin
Ramiro Corrales Brandon McDonald Ike Opara Jason Hernandez
Jon Busch
As was often the case at the Buck last weekend, expect the attacking triumvirate to rotate positions in the 4-3-3 formation as the flow of the match dictates. Feel free to comment below as the game goes on with your observations on what is going right and wrong for the boys in blue-and-black, and check back later in the weekend for a breakdown of Earthquakes' visit to Red Bull Arena.