A pair of West Conference sides separated by a single point in the table will resume their MLS campaigns on Sunday as the Vancouver Whitecaps welcome the San Jose Earthquakes to BC Place Stadium.
The Quakes have claimed a point in three straight league fixtures, defeating the Seattle Sounders 2-0 in their previous domestic encounter, while the Caps are a point behind them in seventh and on a two-match winning run in this competition, after claiming a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Match preview
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With a dozen games still to be played, Vancouver are in a rare position they have not experienced much in recent years, currently three points above the Western Conference playoff line.
In the past, they have been playing catch-up in the postseason battle at this point of the campaign, but after 22 matches this year, the Whitecaps have five more points than at this same stage a season ago.
Putting a game plan together against a manager like Vanni Sartini can be tricky as the Caps boss rarely employs the same formation from one match to the next and seems to enjoy making minor tweaks to his tactical set-up.
Although the playoff destiny of Vancouver is in their hands, a victory on Sunday could be more important than we think, as the Caps will embark on a seven-game road trip following this encounter and have dropped points in eight of nine away matches played this season.
Since March, this team have only lost one match at BC Place Stadium in this competition, squandering a pair of one-goal advantages to the Sounders last July, losing 3-2.
Vancouver have found the back of the net in 10 successive MLS home games, failing to score in only one domestic encounter this year, when they played the Colorado Rapids to a 0-0 draw at the end of April.
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For the first time in what must feel like forever for their supporters, San Jose are in a solid position to make the postseason.
This franchise have only experienced that once since 2018, but with only 11 games remaining, a four-point cushion and four teams behind them in the playoff race, playing beyond the regular season is looking like a real possibility.
Luchi Gonzalez has been at the centre of the Quakes' massive turnaround, with his team currently on 32 points, just three fewer than they had at the end of the 2022 regular season when they finished dead-last in the Western Conference.
Their most significant improvement from 2022 to this season would probably lie in their defensive play, with the Goonies conceding only 29 times this year, after giving up 69 by the end of the previous campaign, the most in the Western Conference.
Like Vancouver, San Jose have only triumphed once away from home this season but have been positioned to win on three other occasions, losing at Atlanta United (2-1) before playing to a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls and Los Angeles FC, scoring the opening goal in each of those encounters.
They are unbeaten in their last four matches against the Whitecaps, but the Quakes have failed to claim three points at BC Place since a 3-1 come-from-behind victory in 2019.
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Team News
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While the secondary transfer window was open, Vancouver added a pair of Canadian internationals to their roster, with Sam Adekugbe returning to his original club in a deal that runs through the 2026 MLS season with an option for 2027, while also acquiring Richie Laryea on loan.
Vancouver also loaned Deiber Caicedo to Colombian side Junior FC for the rest of the season, traded Julian Gressel to the Columbus Crew in exchange for £432,229 in General Allocation Money and extended the contract of Ranko Veselinovic until 2026 with an option for 2027.
Ryan Gauld and Brian White have at least one goal involvement for the Caps in three successive league matches, with the Scotsman notching a brace, while White and Sergio Cordova also netted in their previous MLS fixture versus the Galaxy.
San Jose will be without Jackson Yueill for this encounter due to yellow card accumulation, while Nathan remains sidelined due to an ACL injury.
During the regular-season break, the club signed Cristian Espinoza to an extension until 2025 with an option for 2026, extended the loan deal for Rodrigues until the end of the year, acquired Ayo Akinola from Toronto for an international roster spot and brought in US international Matthew Hoppe on a 12-month loan deal from Middlesbrough in the Championship.
Jeremy Ebobisse has four goals versus Vancouver as a member of the Goonies, notching a brace in their 3-3 draw at BC Place last season while scoring the equaliser in the previous meeting against them this year before Carlos Akapo put home the winner in a 2-1 victory at PayPal Park.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Blackmon, Veselinovic, Adekugbe; Laryea, Cubas, Schopf, Vite; Gauld; White, Cordova
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Marcinkowski; Rodrigues, Beason, Trauco; Akapo, Gruezo, Judson, Cowell; Espinoza, Ebobisse, Kikanovic
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes
Bringing in a pair of versatile players like Adekugbe and Laryea should make Vancouver a tougher team to penetrate defensively, and that, along with the current form of their attacking stars, has us believing they will squeak out a narrow victory this weekend.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
