A pair of MLS sides narrowly above the Western Conference playoff line will square off on Wednesday at Allianz Field as the Vancouver Whitecaps visit Minnesota United.
The Loons are seventh in the conference following a dramatic 3-2 defeat to the Portland Timbers, putting them a point above the Caps, who won a 4-3 thriller against St Louis City this past weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
June was a rough month for Minnesota United, who have only claimed a single point from their previous four MLS encounters combined.
Their current four-match losing run is the longest stretch for this club without a point in MLS since incurring four consecutive defeats to begin the 2021 campaign.
Four times in the 2024 regular season, Eric Ramsay's men have scored first but failed to emerge victorious, dropping nine points as a result.
Although they enter this encounter on a two-match home winless run in league play, on Wednesday, the Loons can claim a fifth victory at Allianz Field this season, surpassing their total from a year ago (four).
Minnesota have conceded at least one goal in eight successive encounters played on home soil since defeating Los Angeles FC 2-0 in March.
They have never lost a home contest against the Whitecaps, with the Loons conceding a 98th-minute equaliser in this exact fixture last year in a match which ended in a 1-1 draw.
© Reuters
Some moments of individual brilliance enabled the Vancouver Whitecaps to win an exciting back-and-forth contest with St Louis over the weekend.
That ended a two-match losing run for this side in this competition, with the Caps scoring as many goals on Saturday as they had in their previous three league fixtures combined (four).
Only one point currently separates them from Austin FC in the playoff battle, though the Canadians have played fewer matches than anyone in the Western Conference (19).
Vanni Sartini's men have lost consecutive affairs away from home in this competition, allowing a combined five goals in those two defeats.
With a victory in this upcoming encounter, the Caps would surpass their number of away triumphs from the 2023 domestic campaign (four).
Vancouver have points in two of their previous three meetings with the Loons but have not scored in four of their last five visits to Minnesota.
Team News
© Reuters
This past weekend, the Loons were without Teemu Pukki and Franco Fragapane due to leg issues, Hugo Bacharach is dealing with a knee injury and Hassani Dotson is eligible to return from suspension.
Canada advanced into the quarter-finals of the Copa America on Saturday meaning Dayne St. Clair and Tani Oluwaseyi will be unavailable to the Loons, while Carlos Harvey and Alejandro Bran are on international duty with Panama and Costa Rica in that competition.
Goals from Jeong Sang-bin and Bongokuhle Hlongwane kept Minnesota within striking distance on Saturday, the fourth and fifth for them, respectively, in the regular season.
Damir Kreilach and Sam Adekugbe were sidelined for the previous Whitecaps contest with both players currently dealing with calf injuries.
The Caps will have Alessandro Schopf available for selection after the Austrian served his one-match suspension against St Louis, Andres Cubas will not be back in time after Paraguay finish their Copa America campaign on Tuesday, while Ali Ahmed is out with Canada in the quarter-finals of that competition.
A Brian White hat-trick helped bring Vancouver back several times on Saturday, with the American now up to eight goals in MLS this season, one fewer than Ryan Gauld (nine) for the team lead, with the winner coming courtesy of Haitian striker Fafa Picault, his fourth of the year.
Minnesota United possible starting lineup:
Irwin; Valentin, Taylor, Boxall, Tapias, Padelford; Lod, Trapp, Rosales; Hlongwane, Sang-bin
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Laborda, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Raposo, Schopf, Vite, Martins; Gauld, White, Picault
We say: Minnesota United 2-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
While the Caps scored some sensational goals last weekend, they also showed their vulnerabilities along the backline, and we do not believe their individual quality will save them again on Wednesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
