- Table positions: FC Dallas and San Jose Earthquakes are separated by just three points and in 6th and 8th place respectively.
- Form: San Jose are undefeated in their last five matches (W1, D4).
MLS playoff race tightens up
These two clubs enter this matchup in close proximity in the MLS 2026 table with FC Dallas in 6th on 51 points from 30 games and San Jose one spot below in 8th with 48 points from the same 30 games.
With just two games to go, this is a key matchup for the playoff race which could potentially push either side up the table.
FC Dallas have the home-field advantage, but it is also the case that Bruce Arena has done a good job at San Jose since taking over on 1st January 2025, bringing structure and some control to a side who are still happy to get dirty in the trenches.
Earthquakes have drawn their last three in a row, with a 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake and 1-1 against Nashville SC keeping them in the playoff hunt but not progressing.
Dallas and San Jose similar but different
Styles of play
They face a similar but opposite approach from Eric Quill's Dallas who have played like a fire brigade since he took over on 20 November 2024. His attacking, high-pressing team can transition to their attacking shape in an instant and have the players to execute it, but the same can be said of the Quakes.
The head-to-head record between the two clubs is finely poised with Dallas having won two, San Jose two and one draw in the five meetings of MLS 2026 (2026 MLS Cycle). In that time, Quakes have scored 2.5 goals per game as visitors to Dallas, so they know how to get in the game.
Home and away records
The Hoops have conceded 20 in 14 home fixtures of MLS 2026, an average of 1.43 goals per-game and they've been hard to break at home in 2026. Dallas have won two and drawn one of their last three home MLS games, while San Jose have won seven, drawn five and lost three away from home in 2026, so the Quakes have one of the better away records in the league.
Tactical mismatch could produce goals
The tactical contrast between these two teams should create plenty of transition chaos, with Dallas looking to push wide and Quakes looking to compact centrally.
We're going with Both Teams To Score at 1.48 because the odds are attractive and because these teams have some goal-scoring punch.
As the Hoops have a home-field advantage, they are the favorites in the moneyline at 1.73 with San Jose 4.0 and the draw 4.1. We'll go with the home side but this should be a close matchup and perhaps not a runaway game for Dallas.
- San Jose are carried by Preston Judd, who has 15 goals in 25 appearances in MLS 2026 and has scored four of the last eight Quakes goals in the last five games.
- Dallas have the lethal finisher, Petar Musa, who has 18 goals in 23 matches in 2026.
