The Seattle Sounders will continue their pursuit of Western Conference glory when they face the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place on Saturday.
Brian Schmetzer's boys find themselves second in the West – three points behind St Louis City – while the Canadian club occupy ninth place in the standings.
Match preview
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The Vancouver Whitecaps suffered a humbling 3-0 defeat at Sporting Kansas City last time out, registering a solitary attempt on target while seeing just 37% of the ball at Children's Mercy Park, while the hosts racked up 16 shots.
Following an impressive 3-2 victory over defending MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC the weekend before, the Whitecaps would have been confident of picking up another positive result against Sporting KC, but they failed to build on the triumph in California.
In fact, Vancouver have been wildly inconsistent of late, recording two wins, two draws and two losses across their past six outings, although they did manage to claim a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders prior to that run.
Vanni Sartini's men can also take confidence from their strong home form, as they have avoided defeat in each of their last nine league matches at BC Place, picking up five wins and four draws while scoring 20 goals.
Thanks largely to their productiveness on home soil, the Caps are the second-highest scorers in the Western Conference, having netted 30 goals in 19 league games this season, while only conference leaders St Louis City have scored more.
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The Sounders made a strong start to the 2023 Major League Soccer campaign, recording five wins, one draw and one loss across their opening seven matches before claiming victories over Minnesota United, Houston Dynamo and New York Red Bulls.
Since then, however, Seattle have struggled for consistency, winning only two of their previous nine league matches while recording three draws and four defeats, although they have managed to keep things tight at the back.
Indeed, Brian Schmetzer's boys still boast the best defensive record in the Western Conference – and the second-best defensive record in the entire league – having conceded just 18 goals in 21 encounters this term.
Goalkeeper Stefan Frei has kept a league-high 11 clean sheets this season, giving him a shutout ratio of 52.4%, so the two-time MLS Cup champions will be hopeful of keeping Vancouver quiet and extending the seven-point gap between the two sides.
Team News
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Vancouver will be without the injured pair of Russell Teibert (knee) and Tristan Blackmon (heel) for the foreseeable future, while Brian White (hip) is a doubt for Sunday's showdown.
The Whitecaps also have Julian Gressel, Javain Brown and Ali Ahmed away on CONCACAF Gold Cup duty, representing the United States, Jamaica and Canada respectively.
Vanni Sartini is expected to utilise a 4-3-2-1 formation, with Simon Becher operating as the lone striker, while Ryan Gauld and Sergio Cordova look set to offer attacking support to Becher.
Seattle also have a number of absentees due to injury and Gold Cup duty, with Xavier Arreaga (quad), Ethan Dobbelaere (hamstring) and Sota Kitahara (quad) currently on the treatment table.
Elsewhere, Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan are both away with the USMNT, although Alex Roldan could feature this weekend following El Salvador's Gold Cup elimination.
Brian Schmetzer will likely opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation, meaning that legendary striker Raul Ruidiaz will lead the line, while Obed Vargas and Joao Paulo are expected to anchor the midfield.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Raposo, Vaselinovic, Laborda, Martins; Schopf, Cubas, Vite; Cordova, Gauld; Becher
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Frei; Baker, Gomez, Cissoko, Tolo; Vargas, Paulo; Lodeiro, Rusnak, Chu; Ruidiaz
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-2 Seattle Sounders
Having ended a five-game winless run last time out, Seattle will be determined to pick up another positive result this weekend, but Vancouver look set to give the Sounders a run for their money.
Given that Vancouver have netted 22 goals across their previous 10 MLS outings, we expect the Whitecaps to instigate a high-scoring encounter on Saturday, although the points will likely be shared.
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Top tip
Ben Morris
