San Jose Earthquakes vs. New England Revolution Preview

This Saturday afternoon, the Earthquakes head east to face off against the red hot New England Revolution. The Quakes record on the road has been woeful this season as the team has failed to record a win away from Buck Shaw Stadium, but they will need a win to keep their razor thin playoff hopes alive. Frank Yallop's side leaves the Bay Area for a crucial match that will prove whether or not this team can end the season on a high note. The team sits second from bottom in the MLS standings with 20 points and will need to earn maximum points from their remaining matches in order to catch the wild card teams who remain 10 points above. Speaking to the San Jose Mercury News at midweek, Quakes midfielder Arturo Alvarez stated that, "the team mentality has changed a lot. You can never start thinking the playoffs are out of the picture."

Despite the optimism, San Jose faces a tough challenge in New England who won their last two matches in impressive fashion, a 1-nil road victory against Seattle and a 3-1 victory against Real Salt Lake, thanks to a Kheli Dube hat trick. Manager Steve Nichol's side appears to be catching fire at the right time as the Revolution have gone 4-2-1 in their last six matches and now sit tied for the third and final MLS playoff spot. This impressive form plus San Jose ineptitude on the road creates a series of difficulties for the Quakes come Saturday. However, the Revs will have some difficult decisions to make come Saturday as they decide whether their hat trick hero and reigning MLS player of the week Kheli Dube will remain the starter as regular starter Edgaras Jankauskas if returns from injury.

Ahead of this colossal match, Frank Yallop will have some serious decisions in the back line as well as up front as defender Jason Hernandez is out of the match due to yellow card accumulation and forward Cornell Glen is still facing a late fitness test after a hamstring injury. The buzz around the club is that Yallop is considering slotting Ramiro Corrales in midfield to cover for the loss of Hernandez and allowing Ramon Sanchez to return to the starting line up in midfield. At forward, look for Chris Wondolowski to get the start after his heroic 93rd minute goal against Kansas City last week. Word out of Quakes camp is that the team preformed very well in training this week and is very keyed up for a vital match that will determine if San Jose can still salvage anything from this season.

Another factor which may play a big part in this match is Tropical Storm Danny which should bring severely inclement weather upon the pitch at Gillette Stadium. Since the match is on the road, BSB will attempt to do another live blog of the match up but may resort to a single match write up following the match. As always make sure to check back with BSB for all the coverage of the Earthquakes.