LA Galaxy - San Jose Earthquakes match preview

Well, sort of. Officially it's a soft opening, so capacity at the newly built Avaya Stadium adjacent to San Jose International Airport will be capped at 10,000 fans for the match on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is at 2:00 pm. 

(See more photos of Avaya Stadium HERE)

Playing a MLS team in an official match for the first time, LA will want to use this game to gauge the team's progress this preseason. Many eyes will be on 18-year old Bradford Jamieson IV, who is poised to start at left midfield as he seeks to earn the spot vacated by Landon Donovan.

Jamieson IV doesn't have to play a perfect game, but he needs to establish himself at the position. Recent news that Gyasi Zardes could drop back into the midfield suggests Bruce hasn't made up his mind either way.

The Galaxy still haven't made a decision on trialist Mika Vayrynen, so expect Juninho and Baggio Husidic to operate as the central midfield pairing. In the back, we could see Todd Dunivant starting on the left and Robbie Rogers switching to the right, a trend in recent scrimmages. AJ is still out with a bone bruise, so Leonardo should start alongside Omar Gonzalez.

Meanwhile, the San Jose Earthquakes are an unknown quantity. Dominic Kinnear has re-taken the helm of an Earthquakes team in the middle of a semi-rebuilding job after ending the 2014 season on a 15-game winless streak.

The Quakes defended solidly enough, but had no real identity as a team and struggled mightily to score. And let's be honest, at some point the team quit on previous coach Mark Watson.

San Jose has made a few moves, recently penning Swiss international Innocent Emeghara to a Designated Player deal, though he's nursing an unknown injury and probably won't play tomorrow. 4th overall SuperDraft selection Fatai Alashe could make an impact this season. Crucially, Argentine Matias Perez Garcia is healthy again, an attacking midfielder who made the Quakes a more dangerous team.

I have no doubt Kinnear will have the Earthquakes playing more organized as a cohesive unit, and the offense should improve, but in a stacked Western Conference, will those changes be enough? (It should be noted the Earthquakes have only given up a single goal in five preseason games)

This should be a fun one. Stay tuned for info on how to view the game.