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With four losses in their last five league fixtures, the Los Angeles Football Club are clearly riding the struggle bus ahead of Saturday night’s home date against the San Jose Earthquakes.

But LAFC will beef up their lineup with the return of Brazilian midfielder Igor Jesus from a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation that forced him to sit out a 1-0 loss at Houston on April 5. That was the Dynamo’s first win of the year.

The 21-year-old Jesus might not have hit the scoresheet this season, but coach Steve Cherundolo has grown to appreciate what he brings to the team.

“There are certain traits that Igor has that other players on our roster who play that position do not have,” Cherundolo said. “He plays very close to our center backs and can sometimes slip into the back line and act as a third center back in a deeper block.”

Jesus’ return can only help a lineup struggling with most aspects of the game. Los Angeles (3-4-0, 9 points) ranks in the bottom half of the league in most categories, including goals for and against, possession time and shots.

While Los Angeles tries to find its best form, San Jose (3-3-1, 10 points) simply looks to maintain something close to the level of play it displayed in Sunday’s 6-1 rout of visiting D.C. United. Josef Martinez scored a hat trick as the Earthquakes celebrated the 30th anniversary of Major League Soccer’s debut with a bang.

Martinez passed Bradley Wright-Phillips for sixth on MLS’ all-time goal list with 120. He also became the seventh player in club history to score three goals in a game.

“He’s a pure 9 (striker),” San Jose coach Bruce Arena said of Martinez. “He has a great nose for the goal. He could have had a fourth goal at the end. It’s really rewarding to have these types of players on the team.”

Martinez and Cristian Arango each have four goals, enabling the Earthquakes to lead the Western Conference in scoring with 15.

–Field Level Media