For the first time since 2014, the Vancouver Whitecaps have a chance to begin an MLS campaign unbeaten after four fixtures when they host Real Salt Lake on Saturday at BC Place Stadium.
Vancouver currently sit second in the Western Conference with seven points following a 3-1 victory at Dallas, while RSL were idle, having lost their previous league fixture 2-1 to the Colorado Rapids.
Match preview
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Following a successful two-game road trip that saw them claim six points, the Caps will play the first of four matches under the dome this weekend.
Vancouver are in sparkling form right now, outscoring their last two opponents by a 5-1 margin, and they have an opportunity to win three straight matches in this competition for the first time since 2022 (three).
The Whitecaps have started well despite being without head coach Vanni Sartini, who must sit out one more match before he can return to the sidelines after the club successfully petitioned to have his six-game suspension reduced.
As things stand, the Caps are just three points behind Minnesota United for first in the Western Conference but have played one fewer game.
Coming into this match, this team are unbeaten in their last four regular-season contests at BC Place, claiming a 1-1 draw with Charlotte FC in their 2024 opener.
The Caps are winless in their last three matches versus Claret and Cobalt, losing both encounters against them a season ago by a 2-1 score.
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Following a week off, we will see how Pablo Mastroeni's side respond after losing to their biggest rivals in the Rocky Mountain Cup.
That was the first time this team came away empty-handed from a league fixture despite scoring the opening goal since September 2023 (3-1 loss versus Dallas).
Since the 2023 regular season, Claret and Cobalt have collected at least a point in four successive away matches in MLS, including a 1-1 draw at St Louis City to begin the 2024 domestic campaign.
RSL have conceded at least once in five of their last six regular-season contests going back to the previous campaign but have not lost successive league fixtures since September of last year (two).
They have points in 11 consecutive matches in this competition when netting multiple times and have not lost in that scenario since the end of May 2023 (3-2 loss versus the Los Angeles Galaxy).
Their 2-1 come-from-behind victory versus Vancouver at the beginning of 2023 ended a two-match losing run for them at BC Place, and with a victory this weekend, they will have won three straight matches against the Caps in MLS for the first time.
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Team News
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Sam Adekugbe is a question mark for the Whitecaps this weekend, as the Canadian defender is still recovering from a knee injury.
It is possible they will be missing Fafa Picault who is currently on international duty with Haiti, while Andres Cubas was called-up to the Paraguayan national team.
Last weekend, Picault, Mathias Laborda and Brian White netted for the first time in 2024, while Ryan Raposo collected his first assist of the new domestic campaign.
Justen Glad will be questionable for Real Salt Lake on Saturday because of a hamstring strain, Pablo Ruiz and Kevin Bonilla have knee injuries and Zack Farnsworth is unlikely to feature due to a shoulder strain.
Diego Luna was named to the American Under-23 squad for the international window this week, while Gavin Beavers will join the Under-19 team.
Emeka Eneli had the only strike for RSL versus the Rapids, while Damir Kreilach scored seven times for them against the Whitecaps, where the Croatian now features.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Laborda, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Brown, Vite, Berhalter, Ahmed; Gauld, White, Kreilach
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Hidalgo, Silva, Vera, Brody; Eneli, Palacio; Gomez, Julio, Barajas; Arango
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Real Salt Lake
The Caps have a lot of momentum on their side right now and have shown they have much more attacking depth in the early stages of this year than we saw in 2023.
Expect to see a highly motivated Kreilach for this upcoming encounter, as RSL tossed aside the veteran attacker during the off-season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
