Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes – MLS, June 22, 2021

The Major League Soccer action is coming thick and fast at the moment. Following a jam-packed weekend schedule, we now have a full round of midweek fixtures to get our tenth into.

Orlando City and San Jose kick off the midweek matches at Exploria Stadium on Tuesday, June 22. This cross-conference clash brings together two sides in contrasting form, with the Lions on a high and the Earthquakes on a four-game winless run.

Stay tuned as I assess the odds for Tuesday’s match and share my prediction and best bets for Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes.

After securing three wins and three draws across their opening six games this season, Orlando suffered their first defeat of 2021 before the recent break – going down 2-1 to the Red Bulls.

Early goals from Tesho Akindele and Nani saw Oscar Pareja’s men race into a 2-0 lead inside eight minutes against Toronto. The Canadians responded and leveled the score before half-time, but Junior Urso netted a late winner for Orlando.

The Lions now find themselves second in the Eastern Conference – five points behind New England. Still, they have a game in hand over the Revs and also boast a better goal difference than Bruce Arena’s side.

Having lost just one of their eight matches this year, Pareja’s men are feared opponents at the moment.

When San Jose won three of their opening four games this season, the Californians looked set for a much-improved campaign. But since then, they have only managed to take one point from a possible 12.

Following defeats to Seattle, Sporting KC, and the Galaxy, the Quakes were held to a goalless draw by Austin last time out.

But, after a promising start, they now find themselves in a familiar position.

The goals have dried up for San Jose, too. Chris Wondolowski, Cade Cowell, and Jackson Yueill all hit the ground running at the beginning of the season, but they have struggled of late.

Having analyzed both teams’ form, it is no real surprise that all top online sportsbooks view Orlando as the obvious favorite to claim all three points on Tuesday.

The goal-based markets are also worth considering here. No team has conceded more goals than Orlando in the East, while San Jose has the second-worst defensive record in the West.

Let’s face it – Orlando should win this one pretty comfortably. Not only have the Lions seen off Toronto twice this year, but they have also gotten the better of Cincinnati and DC United without conceding a goal.

I wouldn’t be shocked if San Jose snatched a goal on Tuesday. With that in mind, my score prediction for Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes is 3-1.

When you consider the gulf in quality between Orlando and San Jose at the moment, I think the price for the home win is definitely worth taking advantage of. The Quakes have played four home games this season and have picked up two wins, and two draws so far.

I’m also pretty confident that Orlando and San Jose will produce at least three goals between them. After all, the Quakes have scored 11 and conceded 12 this year, while five of their matches have produced over 2.5 goals.