Union-Earthquakes 5 Things: Aiming for 4 Straight Home Wins

Union vs. San Jose Earthquakes
4 p.m. on 6ABC

Coming off a victory over New York City FC, Tranquillo Barnetta and the Union (4-3-0) look to extend their home winning streak to four games on Saturday (4 p.m. 6ABC) when they face red-hot Chris Wondolowski and the San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-2) at Talen Energy Stadium.

Here are five things to know about Saturday's matchup:

1. Off to a great start
With four wins in their first seven games, the Union are off to a club-best start. The secret to their success? Dominating at home.

"To start 3-0 here is good," Union manager Jim Curtin said. "We're hungry now and want more."

As Curtin said, the Union have rattled off three consecutive home wins in 2016. They also finished 2015 with a pair of home victories, giving them five straight in Chester.

"There is a buzz about the stadium," Curtin said. "There's new players here, there's new things going on and it's positive right now. But a season is 34 games, not seven, so we still have a lot of work to do."

According to the manager, the early success has come from the club's ability to stop the other team. With players like C.J. Sapong, Chris Pontius, Barnetta and Sebastien Le Toux, the Union knew they could score. It was stopping the opposition that would be a determining factor. Through seven games, so far, so good.

"It starts with defending," Curtin said. "We can't give up easy goals, we have to make teams earn everything. We set our goal at one goal [against] per game and we've held to it. If we only give up 34 goals for the year, that would be entering into record-breaking realm for the league.

"We're happy with where we're at. But we still have a lot of room for growth."

2. Gaddis in, Yaro for three
For the first time in 2016, Ray Gaddis got on the field.

The Union's backup right back, buried behind impressive Keegan Rosenberry on the depth chart, relieved left back Fabinho at halftime in Saturday's 2-0 win over NYCFC. Gaddis will replace Fabinho in Saturday's match, as the Brazilian earned a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation for a foul in the first half.

"He's been itching to go," Curtin said of Gaddis. "I'm very happy with how Ray's handled it. He has his opportunity now. He's not a guy I get too nervous about because I know how good of a competitor he is and how good of a player he is. He'll be up for the challenge to slide in this week."

While the left side of the Union's backline will see change, the team's center back combination of Richie Marquez and Josh Yaro could stay the same for the third consecutive game. Yaro earned his first MLS action two weeks ago against the Seattle Sounders after Ken Tribbett went out with a lower-body injury.

Tribbett isn't 100 percent, according to Curtin. Also, the speed of Yaro vs. the size of Tribbett against the Earthquakes will play a factor in which center back makes the start.

"It's a tough choice," Curtin said. "You wish you knew exactly what the injury status was of [San Jose's] Quincy Amarikwa, who is a low to the ground, fast, explosive guy. If he's injured, they have Adam Jahn, who's a bigger target. We'll let (Earthquakes coach) Dom (Kinnear) have to think about what we're going to do."

3. Stopping Wondo
To say Wondolowski is pretty good is putting it lightly. The Earthquakes' scorer has six straight seasons with double-digit goals and currently leads MLS with seven goals in eight games. That makes him the focal point of the Union's defensive strategy on Saturday.

"Chris Wondolowski is a great goal scorer, a guy we'll need to do a good job with," Curtin said. "He's hot right now and big challenge on the weekend."

But what makes Wondo such an effective player? He isn't physically gifted with great size or blazing speed. But according to Curtin, it's his unwavering will to score that makes the difference.

"He's as good as anyone at arriving in the box, he runs as hard as anyone and he will sacrifice his body," the manager said. "I can't say enough about him."

However, the Union have been preparing for this moment all season. The hosts, tasked with stopping Wondolowski, have already faced Kei Kamara, Jordan Morris, Clint Dempsey, Kaka and David Villa.

"He'll be a handful for our guys," Curtin said of Wondolowski. "Another tough task that isn't just a one-person assignment. Everybody has to be aware of him because his movement is so good in the box."

4. Keep an eye on
Union: Barnetta - As a reward for his first start of 2016, Barnetta delivered a top-tier assist. He leaped over a fallen defender, kept possession and fired over a cross to Pontius for the Union's first goal.

The Union were in awe of the assist.

"I thought he had a very good performance, he looked like himself," Curtin said. "He covered ground, he did a lot of running defensively and he makes a heck of a play on the goal. It was an incredible play where most people would probably just either shoot that or maybe get a corner out of it. He has the ability to lift it over the defender who is on the ground, continue by him and the angle he cuts that back on is not an easy thing to do."

With Roland Alberg back from a red-card suspension, Barnetta is not a sure thing to start on Saturday. But after last week's performance, Curtin may not have a choice.

Earthquakes: Amarikwa - Wondolowski is the scorer but Amarikwa is the compliment. The speedy forward has a goal and three assists this season and will keep the Union back line on guard all game. Curtin hinted that if Amarikwa starts, which is expected, the club will match speed with speed, utilizing Yaro, instead of Tribbett, at the right center back spot. When a player alters your defensive lineup, you know he's dangerous.

5. This and that
• The Union won't have to deal with Earthquakes defender Andres Imperiale on Saturday. The Argentine was suspended for an egregious foul last Sunday, which could shift around the Earthquakes' patchwork defensive line.

• The Union have kicked off the 2016 campaign with 10 goals in seven games (seven of those goals happened at Talen Energy Stadium). The total is good for a share of ninth in MLS. Curtin stated that the result comes from a commitment to a minimum of three bodies in the box on each attack. "We're not perfect," he said. "But the name of the game is scoring goals and one way to do it is to get bodies in there."

• The Union are 3-5-1 against the Earthquakes all time, but the series has been evenly played. The 'Quakes have outscored the Union, 10-9, in the nine games played.

• While Wondolowski leads the Earthquakes with seven goals, no other player on his team has more than one. On the other side, the Union have four goals from Sapong, three from Pontius and two from Le Toux.

• When it comes to cross-country road strategy, the Earthquakes are looking to attack. According to Kinnear, being passive at Talen Energy Stadium is death. "The one thing we need to do is not step on the field afraid," Kinnear said. "We have to step on the field knowing we can win the game, possess the ball and not be afraid to go forward."