Austin FC can stay above the Western Conference playoff line with a victory on Saturday at Q2 Stadium when they host the Vancouver Whitecaps in their first Major League Soccer (MLS) home fixture since July.
Thanks to a 2-0 away victory last week over Nashville SC, the Verde and Black are holding onto the final post-season berth in the West, a point above Dallas and four below the Caps in sixth, with the latter not playing an MLS contest since a 4-3 defeat to the Houston Dynamo in July.
Match preview
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We are into the homestretch of the MLS regular season, and Austin FC are in control of their playoff destiny as a result of their victory last week.
Another triumph this weekend would ensure they stay in a playoff position and equal their longest domestic unbeaten run this year (three).
It would also give them seven victories domestically at Q2 Stadium in 2024, the same as a year ago and just one fewer than their single-season club record set in 2022.
Coming into this encounter, Austin are winless in their previous two league contests in the Texas capital, winning just one of their last five MLS home games (2-1 over New York City FC).
Josh Wolff's men are undefeated in the regular season when netting multiple times in a single game, winning four encounters in this competition when doing so.
They are unbeaten in their last two home contests versus Vancouver, failing to concede in either of those encounters, though their only victory against them occurred in 2022 (3-0).
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At long last, the Whitecaps will resume their MLS campaign fresh off a 1-0 triumph over Pacific FC in the Canadian Championship on Tuesday, advancing into the final of that tournament for a third successive occasion.
In their previous domestic fixture, the Caps saw their six-match unbeaten run across all competitions end, conceding as many goals in that game as they had in their previous four league contests combined.
Vancouver have picked up seven points from their previous three MLS affairs away from home, scoring eight times over that stretch.
Vanni Sartini's men are within reach of home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs as only three points currently separate them from the Colorado Rapids, who are fourth.
There is an opportunity for them to move up the table down the stretch of the season, having played two fewer games than every team currently above them in the Western Conference.
The Caps have won six MLS away games this year, the most for them in a single regular season since 2018 (six), though their only victory at Q2 Stadium occurred in 2021 when they came from behind to claim a 2-1 triumph.
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Team News
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There were four new faces in the Austin starting 11 last weekend who did not begin their previous MLS encounter, with Mikkel Desler, Owen Wolff, Jon Gallagher and Sebastian Driussi all entering the fold against Nashville.
Gallagher netted the winner in that encounter two minutes before the interval, with Osman Bukari scoring late in the second half, while Brad Stuver made seven saves to preserve the clean sheet.
The Caps' reserve goalkeeper, Joe Bendik, is out with a back issue, while Tristan Blackmon saw the field in their victory over Pacific FC this week after being sidelined for a long time because of a groin strain.
Fafa Picault was involved in all three of their goals the last time they played an MLS fixture, notching a brace against the Dynamo and setting up Ranko Veselinovic for his second of the domestic campaign, while Ryan Gauld, recently named to the Scotland national team for the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures, had the winner in their Canadian Championship fixture this week.
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Desler, Hines-Ike, Hedges, Biro; Wolff, Ring, Pereira; Gallagher, Driussi, Bukari
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Utvik, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Ahmed, Berhalter, Cubas, Adekugbe; Gauld; White, Picault
We say: Austin FC 2-2 Vancouver Whitecaps
Both teams have plenty of meaningful games left to play this season, and that desperation could provide an entertaining affair between two resilient groups.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
