Venue and kickoff
Dignity Health Sports Park
18400 Avalon Boulevard,
Carson, California
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT / 10:30 p.m. ET.
Available on Apple TV (MLS Season Pass) and potentially FS1/other broadcasts. This is a Cali Clásico matchup.
Weather forecast for Carson, CA (evening)
Partly cloudy to mostly clear/sunny, with daytime highs in the upper 80s to low 90s°F cooling to the upper 60s°F by evening. Low chance of precipitation; light-to-moderate west/southwest winds. Typical warm Southern California late-summer conditions.
Injury reports
LA Galaxy: Emiro Garces (suspension, Out), João Klauss (foot, Out), Elijah Wynder (ankle, Out); Erik Thommy (foot, Questionable). Marco Reus is available (not listed as injured in latest reports). Riqui Puig remains out long-term in some contexts.
San Jose Earthquakes: Nonso Adimabua (lower body, Out), Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body, Out), DeJuan Jones (lower body, Out), Reid Roberts (suspended, Out), Ronaldo Vieira (lower body, Out).
Current key roster notes
LA Galaxy (coach Greg Vanney): GK JT Marcinkowski; defenders John Nelson, Maya Yoshida, Jakob Glesnes, Harbor Miller; midfielders Lucas Sanabria, Justin Haak, Marco Reus (~4 goals/6 assists); attackers Joseph Paintsil, Robert Taylor, others. Paintsil and Reus are key creative/scoring threats amid absences.
San Jose Earthquakes (coach Bruce Arena): GK Angus Gunn; defenders Vítor Costa, Daniel Munie, Benji Kikanović, Jamar Ricketts; midfielders Beau Leroux, Niko Tsakiris, Nick Fernandez; attackers Preston Judd (~11 goals), Timo Werner (~5 goals), Ousseni Bouda (~5 goals). Judd is the standout scorer.
Key player vs. player matchups:
Preston Judd / Timo Werner (San Jose attack) vs. Galaxy defense (Yoshida/Glesnes/Nelson) and Marcinkowski: Judd’s prolific form against a Galaxy side missing key pieces.
Joseph Paintsil / Marco Reus (Galaxy attack) vs. Earthquakes defense (Munie/Costa/Kikanović) and Gunn: Galaxy’s creative duo testing San Jose’s back line.
Midfield battle: Reus/Sanabria/Haak vs. Leroux/Tsakiris/Fernandez — control of the tempo in this rivalry game.
Set pieces and transitions could prove decisive given both teams’ attacking output.
Recent team forms:
LA Galaxy: Mixed/inconsistent results (recent draws and losses, including a 0-1 road defeat at Houston); struggling for consistency at home and sitting lower in the West table.
San Jose Earthquakes: Strong overall season but recent setbacks (1-3 home loss to St. Louis City SC); still firmly in the playoff picture with strong goal-scoring (38 goals). Previous meeting this season: 1-1 draw.
Series history
The Cali Clásico is a long-standing California rivalry. Historical series is competitive (Galaxy often holds a slight edge in overall wins); recent meetings have been tight, including the 1-1 draw earlier in 2026. Matches frequently produce goals.
Betting trends
Trends favor goals (both teams score often in this matchup) and lean toward the higher-placed Earthquakes on form, though home advantage keeps Galaxy competitive.
MATCH ODDS
San Jose Earthquakes + 175
Los Angeles Galaxy + 120
Draw + 285
Over 3.5 + 110 Under 3.5 – 135
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Tuesday, August 18, 2026
