Dallas can close the gap in the Western Conference playoff race as their Major League Soccer (MLS) campaign continues with a visit to BC Place Stadium on Saturday to battle the Vancouver Whitecaps.
A 1-0 win over Austin FC has the Caps sitting fifth in the West, while the Toros suffered a 3-2 defeat to the Colorado Rapids, putting them three points below the post-season line.
Match preview
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With nine matches remaining in their regular season, Vanni Sartini's Whitecaps are well-positioned to make the playoffs on consecutive occasions for only the second time in club history.
Heading into this encounter, Vancouver are on 41 points, three fewer than the Colorado Rapids for home-field advantage in the opening round of the post-season.
Having home-field advantage, however, may not be what the Caps want, seeing as they are tied with the Houston Dynamo for the most away wins in MLS this year (seven) and have lost four matches at BC Place in this competition, one more than a year ago.
The Caps have a chance to set a new single-season club record for points during their MLS era this year, needing four wins and a draw from their final nine encounters to surpass the 2015 side, which finished with 53 points after 34 matchdays.
Six of their remaining nine regular season contests occur at BC Place, and even with their inconsistencies in Vancouver this year, they can still set an MLS club record for the most home wins in a single campaign by winning those remaining home fixtures, surpassing the previous high of 10 from 2022.
Vancouver are winless domestically at home versus Texas-based clubs this season, playing to a 0-0 draw with Austin FC and losing 4-3 to the Houston Dynamo before the Leagues Cup break.
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A management change in Dallas has this side back within reach of a third successive post-season berth, but there is still work to do to get them over that line.
Peter Luccin has won four of his nine regular-season affairs as interim manager, just one fewer than his predecessor Nico Estevez had in the opening 18 matches of the campaign before being sacked.
Last weekend, Dallas saw a season-high four-match unbeaten run end, losing for just a second time in the league this year when scoring the opening goal.
To get over that playoff line, the Toros will need to improve their away form, winning just one domestic fixture outside Toyota Stadium this year, while four of their remaining seven games will be on the road.
In their recent history, September has been the time of year that we see this team come alive, with Dallas suffering just one defeat in their previous 14 MLS encounters, which took place between September and the end of the regular season.
Dallas are winless in their previous four away matches against the Caps and have not beaten them at BC Place since the 2018 campaign (2-1).
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Team News
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Against Austin last weekend, the Whitecaps were missing leading goalscorer Brian White because of a concussion, while Max Anchor is recovering from a finger injury.
The Caps recently signed Stuart Armstrong from Southampton until 2026 and bought out the contract of defender Luis Martins.
They will be without their captain Ryan Gauld Saturday after he was called up to the Scottish national team for the UEFA Nations League, with Pedro Vite (Ecuador), Fafa Picault (Haiti), Andres Cubas (Paraguay), Sam Adekugbe (Canada) and Ali Ahmed (Canada) also named to their respective national teams for the international window.
Vite had their only goal against Austin, while Yohei Takaoka did not face a single shot on target, collecting his first MLS clean sheet since a 0-0 draw at home to Austin in May.
Last week, Liam Fraser sat out for the Toros due to a leg injury, Geovane Jesus is recovering from a torn ACL and Paxton Pomykal is out for the year after undergoing left knee surgery.
Meanwhile, Paul Arriola is eligible to return to the Dallas lineup this weekend, having missed the previous match with a yellow card suspension.
Four Dallas players are currently on international duty, including Carl Sainte (Haiti), Maarten Paes (Indonesia), Patrickson Delgado (Ecuador), and Show (Angola).
Goals from Petar Musa and Logan Farrington were ultimately not enough to get them any points against the Rapids last Saturday.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Utvik, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Raposo, Berhalter, Schopf, Bovalina; Priso, Kreilach, Johnson
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Maurer; Tafari, Ibeagha, Farfan; Ruan, Illarramendi, Kamungo, Junqua; Lletget, Ntsabeleng; Farrington
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 1-2 Dallas
For some reason, the Caps do not look quite as confident on the ball at BC Place, and with so many key contributors away, it may be difficult to beat a Dallas side desperate to get above the playoff line.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
