FC Cincinnati will pay a first-ever visit to BC Place Stadium on Saturday when they square off with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The Caps have points in eight straight MLS affairs on home soil, coming back to draw Sporting Kansas City late last weekend (1-1), while the Supporters' Shield leaders are unbeaten in their previous eight league fixtures altogether after blanking the Chicago Fire 1-0.
Match preview
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Winning consistently at home is often enough to get you into the MLS Cup playoffs, and that is the case for Vancouver right now, as 18 of their 21 points gained on the current campaign have occurred at BC Place.
They are up to sixth in the Western Conference thanks primarily to that home record, where this team have conceded a goal or fewer on seven occasions this season, while posting four clean sheets.
Vanni Sartini likes his side to play with possession, but they have created most of their chances in transition with plenty of crosses along the byline, and they have one of the best crossers in the league to count on in Julian Gressel.
Vancouver failed to win their first three matches of the campaign in which they had netted the opener but have done a better job at maintaining their advantages of late, winning five of their last six league contests after scoring first.
For a second successive campaign the Whitecaps will walk away with some silverware, having retained their Canadian Championship on Wednesday with a 2-1 win at home versus CF Montreal.
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They have done it the easy way and the hard way, and FC Cincinnati set another MLS record last week, becoming the first club in the history of this competition to reach the 39-point plateau after only 16 domestic fixtures.
Pat Noonan's men have 10 one-goal victories in 2023, which is more wins than any other club has totalled in their entire campaign thus far.
With six successive victories in league play, it is their longest-ever winning streak in franchise history and one shy of the longest run in MLS from a year ago set by Los Angeles FC, who went on to capture the title.
Cincy have points in three straight-away fixtures in MLS play, earning a 1-0 result versus the Colorado Rapids the last time out.
There are little to no flaws to speak of when you look at this team right now, although they have lost five away matches on Canadian soil in this competition and have never beaten the Caps in two previous encounters.
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Team News
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Ali Ahmed was unavailable for the Whitecaps in their previous league fixture versus SKC last week as he is going through concussion protocol, while Pedro Vite was called-up to the Ecuadorian national team for the upcoming international window.
Ryan Gauld rescued a point for Vancouver last Saturday, converting an 88th-minute penalty, and he now has a goal in back-to-back domestic outings.
Gauld and Brian White were on the mark for the Caps on Wednesday as they withstood a late flurry from the visitors, including a consolation goal by Sunusi Ibrahim as they hung on to claim the Canadian Championship for a second successive season.
Cincinnati could be missing Sergio Santos once again due to a hamstring strain, Brenner is still recovering from an ankle injury, while Yerson Mosquera and Junior Moreno were called up for international duty with the Colombian and Venezuelan national teams, respectively.
Luciano Acosta had the only strike in their previous MLS victory over Chicago as Roman Celentano picked up his eighth clean sheet, putting him one behind Stefan Frei for the league lead.
Goals from Brandon Vazquez, Alvaro Barreal and Santiago Arias were enough to see them through to the semi-finals of the US Open Cup on Tuesday, defeating the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3-1.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Brown, Veselinovic, Blackmon, Martins; Gressel, Cubas, Schopf; Gauld; White, Vite
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Powell, Miazga, Murphy; Gaddis, Nwobodo, Angulo, Barreal; Kubo; Vazquez, Acosta
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 0-1 FC Cincinnati
Cincy seem to know how to turn one point into three having done it many times already this season, and we believe their momentum will continue on Saturday.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
