The San Jose Earthquakes head into Saturday’s match in seventh place in the Western Conference. At the final whistle, they will be somewhere between fourth and ninth.
The playoff race is as tight as ever, and with a reduced number of fixtures, each individual match weighs more heavily than years past. A mere four points separate the fourth and final playoff spot to host a first-round match and the ninth-place team that will be watching the postseason from their couch.
As the Quakes push on for their first postseason berth since 2017, they’ll need to ward off at least four teams in the West – and nobody’s quite sure what will happen with the Colorado Rapids and their lack of matches played due to COVID.