After a 1-0 win against San Jose Earthquakes’ Head Coach Dominic Kinnear, he will take them to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park for a Friday night showdown against the Colorado Rapids. Being Western Conference rivals, San Jose and Colorado have a storied history which includes 57 games all-time against each other and 29 on Colorado’s home field. In the all-time record category, Colorado has 18 wins, 26 losses, and 13 ties while in the 29 meetings (of the 57) which have taken place at Colorado’s home field, Colorado has a record of 10 wins, 13 losses, and six ties.

Last season, the Rapids and Earthquakes met three times with all ending in draws with the most recent coming on September 27, 2014 with a 1-1 scoreline. Both teams will look to change their momentum at Dicks Sporting Goods Park and come out of this match with three points. However, it was announced today that the Earthquakes would have to do it without Designated Player Innocent Emeghara, who recently underwent surgery for his torn meniscus, as was announced on Thursday by the team. Also on the injury report for San Jose are Forward Steven Lenhart, Forward Mark Sherrod, Midfielder Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi, and Defender Shaun Francis, while the players on the injury report for Colorado include: Midfielder Marcelo Sarvas, Defender Drew Moor, and Defender Marc Burch.

With players such as Sarvas and Innocent out for several weeks, it will be interesting to see how each team handles their lineup and this match. Also of note for the Earthquakes, is the call-up of Tommy Thompson to the Under-20’s World Cup, however, it will not affect this match so it is the opinion of this writer that Thompson will find his place somewhere in the Starting XVIII tomorrow night. Can the San Jose Earthquakes come out of Dicks Sporting Goods Park with three points? It will be interesting to see how newly reacquired Head Coach Dominic Kinnear handles his lineup and what he chooses to bring to the table. This matchup is set for a 10:00pm MST kickoff tomorrow night on UDN (UniVision Deportes), and also MLS LIVE. The referee for this matchup is Baldomero Toledo, assistants are Mike Kampmeinert and Apolinar Mariscal, and 4th official is Daniel Radford.