Real Salt Lake vs San Jose Earthquakes: Depleted Rosters
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Real Salt Lake host San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer on 14 October 2026 at America First Field in Sandy, Utah, with both squads stripped of multiple regular starters. The visitors enter the fixture holding fourth place in the Western Conference, sitting 14 points above their hosts.
Real Salt Lake miss five through injury
The home side carry a lengthy list of confirmed casualties into Matchweek 29. Diego Luna, Emeka Eneli, Juan José Arias, Justen Glad and Lukas Engel are all sidelined with injuries, while Griffin Dillon is doubtful. Those absences compound a difficult sequence in which Real Salt Lake have lost four of their past five matches, including a 1-2 defeat away at Philadelphia Union on 10 October 2026.
Despite those losses, Real Salt Lake have maintained a solid home record in league play, recording eight wins, two draws and four defeats across 14 fixtures at America First Field, scoring 27 goals and conceding 20. Sergi Solans leads their attack with 11 goals in all competitions, having scored twice in a 3-0 home victory over New England Revolution on 27 September 2026. Over their last five outings with chance data, Real Salt Lake have created 1.06 expected goals and allowed 1.32 per match.
San Jose arrive on a five-match unbeaten run
San Jose Earthquakes travel to Sandy without six injured squad members of their own, with Darius Johnson, DeJuan Jones, Jack Skahan, Jonathan González, Niko Tsakiris and Nonso Adimabua ruled out. The visitors have nonetheless sustained form, going unbeaten in their last five league fixtures with three victories and two draws. Most recently, they drew 1-1 away at Colorado Rapids on 11 October 2026 after defeating Portland Timbers 3-1 on 27 September 2026.
Preston Judd leads San Jose with 15 goals across all competitions this season, anchoring an attack that has produced 50 league goals. Away from home, San Jose have taken seven wins and four draws from 14 league fixtures, conceding 18 times. Their underlying metrics also indicate steady control, producing 1.24 expected goals per game while conceding 1.14 over their past five matches with chance data.
Our model expects a Real Salt Lake win
Our model expects a Real Salt Lake win, assessing the fixture with medium confidence. That projection relies on Real Salt Lake's 8-2-4 home foundation and their 2-1 victory over San Jose when the clubs last met on 27 July 2025. It stands against San Jose's superior league standing and a five-match unbeaten sequence, which complicates the hosts' path given their depleted defensive ranks.
