John Marshall, San Jose

After a rough week 1 loss to FC Dallas, the San Jose Earthquakes travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on Seattle Sounders FC.

Although the Earthquakes showed great improvement from last season in the opener, a misplayed ball by David Bingham in the 92nd minute gave Blas Perez an open header for the game winner. Paulo Renato managed to keep Dallas off the board earlier in the match by clearing a ball off the line after Perez beat Bingham but he was unable to repeat the feat as Dallas walked away with a 1-0 win.

Seattle on the other hand dismantled the New England Revolution 3-0 at CenturyLink Field capping the win off with a beautiful passing display by Marco Pappa, Obafemi Martins, and Clint Dempsey that left the US national with an easy tap in and the eventual Goal of the Week winner. The defending Supporters’ Shield winners looked to be in mid-season form against the Revs, controlling the match with aggressive offense and stifling defense.

San Jose is desperately fighting to end their 16 match winless streak dating back to last season and they will have to put in a complete performance if they plan on winning in Seattle. Designated player Innocent Emeghara appeared late in the Dallas game and Quakes fans will be hoping to see the forward make his first start for the club. Fitting him into the lineup could prove tricky for Dominic Kinnear with his other two DPs, Chris Wondolowski and Matias Perez Garcia, already starting up top for the Quakes. With the current state of the artificial turf in CenturyLink, its possible Kinnear holds off on playing Innocent until the home opener, so as not to re-aggravate his injury.

The Earthquakes will need to be stalwart in defense against the powerful Sounders attack if they wish to get a result from the match, and that begins with center backs Renato and Victor Bernardez. Expect to see the bigger Bernardez marking Dempsey while Renato is tasked with marking the faster Martins.

For the attack to get going, look to Sanna Nyassi and Marvell Wynne on the left side of the pitch using their speed to run at the Seattle defense, likely to be matched up against an aging Leo Gonzales on Seattle’s right side. The Quakes will also need strong performances by Wondo and MPG to keep the pressure on the Seattle back line and keep the Sounders off the attack.

For Seattle it’s likely to be the same pairing of Martins, Dempsey, Pappa, and Lamar Neagle leading the attack while center mids Gonzalo Pineda and Michael Azira distribute through the center of the field. Seattle also got help from veteran defender Tyrone Mears who provided the assist on Martins’ goal in the New England match and he’ll likely be another player to look for in Seattle’s attack.

San Jose and Seattle face off at 7:00 PST this Saturday, March 14th. The game will be broadcast on CSNCA in San Jose and Q13 Fox in Seattle.