Toronto come into this weekend’s fixtures sitting top of the Eastern Conference and have a 6-point cushion over second place New York City. They host San Jose Earthquakes at BMO Field in a match they are expected to win.
Toronto reached the MLS Cup final last season, only to fall at the final hurdle and lose the match on penalties to Seattle Sounders on their own pitch. Having won through the MLS Cup playoffs to reach that stage, Toronto will be hoping they can enter the playoffs at a later stage this season by winning the Eastern Conference for the first time.
San Jose Earthquakes can still finish in the knockout round of the Western Conference and give themselves a chance of featuring in the end of season playoffs. They are currently 1 point off sixth place and a win here will do their chances a lot of good.
Toronto Form
Toronto come into this match on a 9-game unbeaten run in the MLS, which has been good enough to see them open a lead at the top of the Eastern Conference. They have won each of their last 4 games, with victories at Chicago Fire and Montreal Impact plus home wins against Portland Timbers and Philadelphia Union. They have scored 13 goals in those 4 games, averaging 3.25 goals per game and have conceded 3 times. At home in the MLS, Toronto have remained unbeaten in their 13 games, winning 10 and drawing 3. It’s an impressive record and they scored 21 goals, conceding only 2 in their last 7 at BMO Field.
San Jose Earthquakes Form
San Jose Earthquakes managed to break a run of 4 matches without a win in their previous game as they came away from LA Galaxy with a 3-1 victory. San Jose Earthquakes were on a good run of form in the MLS, winning 8 of their 12 games prior to their defeat on penalties in the US Open Cup semi-final to Sporting Kansas City. This loss seemed to hit them hard and they fell to a 3-0 defeat at Houston Dynamo, followed by a 2-2 draw at home to Philadelphia Union and a 4-0 loss at Real Salt Lake.
Away from home in the MLS, San Jose Earthquakes have struggled and the win at LA Galaxy stopped a run of 6 straight defeats. In those 6 defeats, they conceded 21 goals and scored only 3 themselves.
Team News
Toronto will be without goalkeeper Clint Irwin for this game as he is injured and will join defender Nick Hagglund and midfielder Benoit Cheyrou on the treatment table. San Jose Earthquakes are still without defenders Harold Cummings and Marvell Wynne plus three other defenders are also rated as doubtful. Midfielder Marc Pelosi is another player who will miss the match with injury.
Top Betting Tips
Despite San Jose Earthquakes getting back to winning ways last time out, Toronto must start this game as clear favourites to take maximum points and this becomes apparent with their odds of 4/9 with Ladbrokes.
Given the way Toronto have been scoring goals at home and the rate at which San Jose Earthquakes have been conceding them on the road, the Canadian team could find the back of the net a few times in this match. Toronto FC to score 3 or more goals is 31/20 with Coral. With Toronto looking good to win this game comfortably, it may be worthwhile looking at the Asian Handicap market and Toronto -1.5 is on offer at 23/20 with Ladbrokes.