On Saturday, the Vancouver Whitecaps can claim their first MLS victory at BC Place Stadium in nearly two months when they host the Colorado Rapids.
Earlier this week, the Caps came away with a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City, moving above the Rapids in the Western Conference table on goal difference, with the latter suffering a 3-1 defeat to the Houston Dynamo.
Match preview
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Vancouver ended a miserable month of May on a high note earlier this week, snapping a five-match winless run in all competitions.
We saw the Caps use their speed effectively in Kansas City, causing numerous turnovers with their strong press, which ultimately led to their winning goal.
Vanni Sartini's men have been unusually inconsistent at home throughout this domestic campaign, already with three defeats, one fewer than they suffered during the 2023 regular season.
All six of their 2024 domestic triumphs have occurred when netting the opening goal, while they have yet to win an MLS contest this year when conceding first.
As strong as they are on the counter, the Caps have had difficulty containing their opponents in transition, allowing more counter-attacking goals than anyone in the league (four).
Between April 27 and May 18, this team failed to find the back of the net for a total of 435 minutes in this competition, the longest stretch without a goal in MLS this season, though they have scored in three successive domestic affairs since then.
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Some poor defending proved costly once again for Colorado on Wednesday, as they conceded three or more goals for a third successive league contest.
The Burgundy Boys are currently on a three-match winless run domestically, their longest stretch without an MLS victory this season.
However, their current slump seems relatively minor when considering what this side have already achieved in 2024 under Chris Armas, claiming 22 points after 16 league fixtures, five more than they accumulated in their entire 2023 campaign.
Armas's side love to play with width and utilise their wing-backs, who push high up the field, creating plenty of scoring opportunities with their overloads.
That approach has enabled them to become a much more potent attacking side than we saw in years past, scoring 28 times in the 2024 regular season, two more than they had in 2023.
It has been over three years since they last walked away with all three points versus the Caps at BC Place, though they are unbeaten in their previous four MLS meetings against them.
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Team News
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Sam Adekugbe missed another Whitecaps encounter this week because of a calf strain, while Damir Kreilach did not feature yet again but was back on the bench for the first time since sustaining an ankle injury.
Pedro Vite and Tristan Blackmon were unused substitutes on Wednesday for the first time since their 2-1 win over Cavalry in the Canadian Championship quarter-finals.
A Ryan Gauld brace was all the Caps needed to defeat SKC, the 10th match-winning goal for the Scotsman in a Vancouver shirt, equalling Lucas Cavallini for the second-most in their MLS history.
Colorado were missing Wayne Frederick earlier this week with a sore hip, Kimani Stewart-Baynes has a groin issue and Daniel Chacon continues to recover from a knee injury.
There were three newcomers in their starting 11 versus Houston as Sebastian Anderson, Jasper Loffelsend and Connor Ronan replaced Keegan Rosenberry, Oliver Larraz and Omir Fernandez.
Djordje Mihailovic has a goal contribution in three straight domestic contests for the Rapids, putting home their only goal versus Orange Crush.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Laborda, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Raposo, Cubas, Schopf, Ahmed; Picault, White, Gauld
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Steffen; Rosenberry, Bombito, Maxso, Vines; Ronan, Loffelsend; Cabral, Mihailovic, Bassett; Navarro
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Colorado Rapids
For as poor as Vancouver have been at home this season, they are facing a side that leave far too many gaps in between their midfield and backline, which why we are giving the home side the edge on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
