After officially booking a place in the MLS Cup playoffs this weekend, the Vancouver Whitecaps can clinch a record eighth Cascadia Cup with a victory on Wednesday against the Seattle Sounders at BC Place Stadium.
A 1-1 draw versus the Portland Timbers earned the Caps a spot in the post-season, as they currently sit seventh in the Western Conference, three points below Seattle in fifth, with the latter defeating the Houston Dynamo 1-0 the last time out.
Match preview
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The Whitecaps will officially be a part of the playoffs for a second successive campaign, only the second time they have achieved that feat in the MLS era.
On Saturday they extended their unbeaten run at home in this competition to three matches, though they have only won one of those encounters (2-0 over the San Jose Earthquakes).
Vanni Sartini's men are currently on a three-match domestic winless run, scoring just a single goal in two of those encounters.
Three more matches remain for them at home in the regular season, and if they can win each of those contests, they would surpass their number of victories in MLS from a year ago (eight).
Over the 2024 domestic campaign, the Whitecaps have failed to win four matches when scoring the opening goal, accounting for nine points dropped.
Vancouver are unbeaten at home versus Cascadia opposition in the 2024 campaign, earning a win and a draw at BC Place against the Portland Timbers.
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Another solid defensive outing for Seattle on Saturday has them in the thick of a top-four position in the Western Conference.
Brian Schmetzer's men have posted three clean sheets in their last four MLS fixtures, while they are on a four-match unbeaten run in this competition.
Heading into this midweek fixture, they are tied with the Colorado Rapids for fourth in the West but have one fewer victory, which is what is keeping them below the Burgundy Boys in the table.
As we are accustomed to seeing, the Sounders have once again been among the best defensive units in the league this year, conceding 34 goals after 31 matchdays, just one more than the Columbus Crew for the fewest in MLS, though the Crew have played one game fewer.
The Rave Green have won three of their last four MLS away games and can collect their seventh domestic triumph as the visitors on Wednesday, equalling their mark from 2023.
Seattle are winless in their last three matches against the Whitecaps but beat them in their previous visit to BC Place in 2023 (3-2).
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Team News
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In their draw on Saturday, the Caps were missing captain Ryan Gauld due to a knee knock, while Ali Ahmed was also sidelined because of a quad strain.
There were several new faces in their starting 11 against the Timbers, who did not begin their match with the Los Angeles Galaxy, including Bjorn Inge Utvik, Ryan Raposo, Andres Cubas and Fafa Picault.
Brian White scored three minutes into their weekend fixture, his 10th in his last nine MLS appearances and the 15th for him in the league this season, equalling a personal best from 2023.
On the Sounders side, Raul Ruidiaz is dealing with a sore knee, Leo Chu sat out of their weekend fixture with an illness and Joao Paulo is recovering from a calf injury.
Last Wednesday, the club signed Jackson Ragen to a contract extension until the end of the 2027 season with an option for 2028.
Paul Rothrock had their only strike against the Dynamo, while Stefan Frei needed to make just one stop to collect a clean sheet.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Utvik, Veselinovic, Halbouni; Berhalter, Cubas, Vite, Adekugbe; Kreilach, White, Picault
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; A. Roldan, Gomez-Andrade, Ragen, Tolo; C. Roldan, Vargas; de la Vega, Rusnak, Atencio; Morris
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 1-1 Seattle Sounders
With both sides guaranteed a post-season berth and some key pieces for each currently on the mend, we do not expect the same intensity we are used to seeing from these arch-rivals, who will not want to risk losing another player so close to the post-season.
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