The Vancouver Whitecaps can book their spot in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs on Wednesday with a victory at BC Place Stadium versus St Louis City.
Over the weekend, the Caps played DC United to a 2-2 draw, moving them five points above the playoff line, while St Louis officially clinched first place in the Western Conference with a 4-1 win over Sporting Kansas City.
Match preview
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Without a victory in four successive MLS affairs, the Whitecaps are a game away from matching their longest winless run of the current domestic campaign. However, the mood in Vancouver is relatively positive heading down the homestretch of the regular season.
That is because they did themselves a world of good during their recent eight-game road trip, winning on three occasions and claiming at least a point in six of those encounters, moving them up to 43 points, matching their total from a year ago.
In the previous regular season, the Caps' form at home was often their saving grace, finishing 2022 with 10 triumphs, the second-most in the Western Conference, but it has been a while since fans have seen them emerge victorious at BC Place with this team going winless in four successive home fixtures in all competitions.
Vanni Sartini has seen his side have a second-half lead in each of their previous three matches, only to give it away, losing seven potential points as a result, while domestically they have dropped eight points from winning positions this year at BC Place.
Maintaining advantages has been an issue for them this season, but finding the back of the net has rarely been a problem, with Vancouver scoring in 14 of their last 15 competitive fixtures, including eight successive MLS encounters, as they currently sit second in the Western Conference regarding goals for (51).
Five of their seven MLS home victories this year have come versus Western Conference opponents, but only two of those triumphs have been against sides currently above them in the table (the Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders).
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For the moment, the road to the MLS Cup final out West runs through St Louis as the expansion side secured the top spot in the conference in style, scoring four times in 12 minutes this past weekend to defeat their state rivals.
What Bradley Carnell has achieved with this group is truly remarkable, with the South African guiding them to a 56-point campaign thus far, tied with Bob Bradley (Chicago Fire 1998), Domenec Torrent (New York City FC 2018) and Jeff Cassar (Real Salt Lake 2014) for the fifth-most points gained by a first-year head coach in MLS history.
Having home-field advantage throughout the playoffs could prove to be a massive boost for this club, with St Louis currently unbeaten in six successive domestic encounters at CityPark, claiming 35 points there this season, the second-most by an expansion franchise, and just one-point fewer than the Atlanta United side of 2017.
They are only a point away from matching the regular-season league points record by an expansion side set in 2018 (57 by Los Angeles FC), and with a win and draw from their final two regular season fixtures, St Louis can become the first expansion team in MLS history to reach the 60-point plateau.
Away from home, things have not been quite as rosy for this group, with St Louis winning just one of their last six domestic affairs, though they enter this contest with points in three straight MLS road fixtures, defeating Minnesota United 2-1 the last time out.
Wednesday will be their first trip to BC Place Stadium and only their second-ever visit to Canada in the regular season, after St Louis defeated Toronto at BMO Field earlier this year (1-0), while they hold a 100% record against Canadian opponents in this competition, getting past the Caps at home 3-1 in their other encounter against their northern neighbours.
Team News
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Luis Martins will be questionable for Vancouver on Wednesday as he continues to recover from a left calf strain, while Thomas Hasal is out because of patellar tendinopathy.
Ryan Gauld was back on the scoresheet last weekend, collecting his 21st goal contribution of the campaign and notching his 10th strike of the year, while Brian White found the back of the net for the third match running, putting him up to 14 on the current MLS campaign, one back of Hany Mukhtar, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Luciano Acosta in the Golden Boot race.
Junior Hoilett will be seeking his first start at home since joining the Caps from England as he replaced Sebastian Berhalter in the second half against DC United, while Yohei Takaoka has conceded multiple strikes in four successive encounters and has not posted a clean sheet in MLS since August 31 (1-0 over the Chicago Fire).
Rasmus Alm was on the bench for St Louis this past weekend because of a groin strain, Miguel Perez is dealing with an ankle sprain and Lucas Bartlett is doubtful due to a shoulder injury.
Klauss has three goals in his last two games, including a brace versus SKC last weekend, putting him in a tie for the team lead in that department alongside Nicholas Gioacchini (10) on a night when Eduard Lowen collected three assists for the second time this season, while the other St Louis goals came courtesy of Samuel Adeniran and Jared Stroud.
Perez and Lowen each found the back of the net in their only previous meeting against Vancouver this season, when an own-goal from Tristan Blackmon proved to be the winner.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Laborda, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Brown, Raposo, Cubas, Laryea; Vite; White, Gauld
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Nerwinski, Parker, Hiebert, Markanich; Vassilev, Blom, Lowen, Stroud; Klauss, Adeniran
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-2 St Louis City
These are the two highest-scoring teams in the Western Conference, and on that artificial turf at BC Place, we have every reason to believe there will be plenty of chances on both sides so we could see our share of goals.
On the opposite side, though, neither have been particularly sharp on the back end of late, so we expect to see a stalemate on Wednesday.
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