St Louis City v San Jose Earthquakes: Quakes showing 'greatest strength' in 'crazy' May

The Quakes have been beset by injury issues in recent weeks, with the latest seeing goalkeeper Daniel replaced by Earl Edwards Jr.

But Edwards stepped up to play a key role as San Jose beat winless rivals the LA Galaxy in midweek as a 1-0 victory ensured they still have not lost since April.

The Quakes now have the opportunity to improbably finish the month unbeaten, and forward Ousseni Bouda heralded the strength of the squad as they continue to deliver.

"At any given day, we can put a different line-up there and feel strong that we can get a result," he said. "I think that we have a really strong team.

"There are a lot of people that can step up at any time, and that's one of our strengths for the long term and for the duration of the season. That's going to come in handy and help us.

"As you can see, this month has been crazy, and many people have had to step up at different times, and people have done so. That's one of the greatest strengths of this team."

Regardless, coach Bruce Arena is looking forward to the day he can call on his strongest XI.

"We're getting better, but we're still missing some players," Arena said.

"We probably were without three or four starters [against the Galaxy], and when we get our full team together I think we can have a good second half of the season.

"So, I give a lot of credit to our team. The complete roster has contributed."

With or without all of their key men, there is certainly a contrast in moods between that of San Jose and that of St Louis, who have not won in MLS since March.

Coach Olof Mellberg was sacked this week as St Louis seek to "improve our overall performance and return to a winning culture", sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said.

Goals have consistently been hard to come by for St Louis in recent seasons, a trend that stretches back well before this miserable ongoing run.

Teuchert came in last season and finished the season as the club's joint-leading goalscorer despite only playing 10 matches as he netted five times.

And while he has scored only three goals this term, he is again St Louis' top marksman. In the absence of viable alternatives, they need him to deliver in attack.

Likely to be tasked with stopping Teuchert from turning St Louis' season around is stand-in San Jose goalkeeper Edwards.

The Quakes' injury situation has afforded Edwards opportunities that appeared unlikely when he was signed in the offseason, but he is seizing them with both hands.

His performance against the Galaxy helped San Jose keep a third consecutive clean sheet away from home in the regular season, the first time they have achieved that feat in club history.

The form of these two sides could scarcely be more contrasting, which suggests San Jose should be heavy favourites.

Their eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions is their longest since 2021, when the Quakes went 10 without defeat between May and July.

Meanwhile, St Louis' winless streak stands at a club-record 11 matches.

They at least have a strong record against San Jose, winning all of their four meetings, but even a St Louis optimist might struggle to argue that run is likely to continue – although Opta's win probability does find in the hosts' favour.

St Louis City – 49.6%

Draw – 25.4%