After a disappointing two-game road trip, the Vancouver Whitecaps return to BC Place Stadium on Saturday to host St Louis City.
Vancouver dropped to ninth in the MLS Western Conference following a 2-0 defeat to the Portland Timbers, putting them three places above St Louis, who played to a 1-1 draw with Atlanta United the last time out.
Match preview
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There were a ton of expectations surrounding the Whitecaps ahead of this season, but lately, their campaign has grown somewhat stale.
Vanni Sartini, who coached in his 100th MLS match last weekend, has seen his side go from a contending team to one currently clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, only above the Seattle Sounders on goal difference.
So far in 2024, the Caps have been disappointing on home soil, dropping points in five of their eight regular season matches at BC Place, though they won the last time out versus the Colorado Rapids (2-1).
Perhaps the biggest disappointment for them in the 2024 regular season has been their struggles in the attacking third, netting the joint third-fewest goals in the Western Conference (26).
Six of their seven defeats in MLS this season have come when they conceded the opening goal, claiming just two points in that scenario.
A victory on Saturday would match their longest unbeaten run in league play this year (two), while a defeat would be their third in a row, their longest run without a point in this competition since 2022 (three).
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It has been a long time since St Louis had emerged with maximum points from an MLS fixture, currently winless in eight successive domestic encounters.
Bradley Carnell's men have been in most of their matches this season but have been unable to maintain numerous advantages, dropping eight points from four games this year when netting first.
That is part of why they are outside the playoff picture, currently six points below the Western Conference post-season line.
This side emulate the traditional Red Bulls energy drink football, built on allowing the opposition the lion's share of possession and hoping to catch them in transition.
Unlike what we saw in their MLS debut campaign in 2023, though, it has not produced the same results this season, largely due to a lack of attacking quality, scoring the second-fewest goals in the Western Conference (24).
Their only previous visit to BC Place was a forgettable outing for the visitors, who lost 3-0 to the Whitecaps during the 2023 campaign.
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Team News
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Sam Adekugbe missed another encounter for the Whitecaps last week with a calf injury, while Alessandro Schopf will have to sit out after receiving a pair of cautions versus Portland.
The Caps will be without Andres Cubas, who is still on international duty with Paraguay at the Copa America, while Ali Ahmed is representing Canada at that tournament.
Giuseppe Bovalina made his first career start for Vancouver in their previous encounter, with the Australian playing the opening 45 minutes before being replaced by Ryan Raposo.
St Louis were without Celio Pompeu against Atlanta due to a lower leg issue, Joakim Nilsson is dealing with a hamstring strain, Rasmus Alm sat out because of a knee injury and Tomas Ostrak is out for the year due to an ankle tendon problem.
Last week, Aziel Jackson was traded to the Columbus Crew in exchange for General Allocation Money, and the club also recently transferred Nikolas Dyhr to Randers FC in the Danish Superliga.
Kyle Hiebert is still away on international duty with the Canadian national team at the Copa America and will not be available to them on Saturday.
The only goal scored by St Louis City last weekend came courtesy of Indiana Vassilev, his third of the 2024 Major League Soccer campaign.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Utvik, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Raposo, Vite, Berhalter, Martins; Gauld, White, Kreilach
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Nerwinski, Wentzel, Parker, Reid; Durkin, Lowen; Vassilev, Blom, Kijima; Klauss
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 St Louis City
St Louis are without an MLS victory as the visitors this season, and we believe that run will continue on Saturday against a side that have much more individual quality than them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
