Can the Sounders win their first match on short rest this season?

The Seattle Sounders are traveling to Northern California to take on the San Jose Earthquakes in a Western Conference midweek clash. The Sounders are experiencing an uptick in form, coming off two straight wins against the Houston Dynamo and Vancouver Whitecaps. The win against Vancouver last weekend could be a turning point in the season, but they have to put in the work against a San Jose team they haven’t beaten in three straight meetings.

The Earthquakes are in a bit of a sticky situation given their absences and form. They’ve won just one game in their last six, but they’ve picked up some decent draws along the way, particularly against LAFC. Their best player and MVP candidate Cristian Espinoza has scored in back-to-back matches after blanking the entire month of June. The Quakes are tough to beat at home, losing only one match (St. Louis) at PayPal Park. Theoretically, it’s possible for them to go effectively full strength on Wednesday night because they don’t have a match this coming weekend.

One key stat

0-3-3 - The Sounders haven’t won this season coming off short rest.

Vibe check

The Sounders have been able to stockpile goodwill recently with their last two wins, especially with the way they beat Vancouver on Saturday. With a match coming up this weekend at home against Dallas, this match seems to be a bit of a freebee. As long as things don’t get too out of hand I’m not sure a draw or a loss will matter that much.

How close to full strength is everyone?

• The Sounders will be without Stefan Frei again due to concussion protocol. Arreaga and Rowe are still out with long-term injuries, with Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan still away at the Gold Cup.
• The Earthquakes will be without their starting goalkeeper Daniel because of a red card suspension. They’re also missing their two best midfielders, Jackson Yueill and Cade Cowell. Jamiro Monteiro is also listed as questionable.

Projected lineups

Sounders (4-2-3-1): Cleveland; Baker, Ragen, Yeimar, RBW; Vargas, Atencio; Chu, Rusnak, Teves; Heber

San Jose (3-5-2): Marcinkowski; Mensah, Beason, Rodrigues; Marie, Trauco, Skahan, Gruezo, Akapo; Ebobisse Epinoza

What you need to know

Sounders record (2nd West): 10-7-5, +8 GD

San Jose record (7th West): 7-7-8, -3 GD

Where: PayPal Park, San Jose, CA

Kickoff time: 7:39pm Pacific

Commentators (AppleTV): Keith Costigan and Warren Barton