The surging Vancouver Whitecaps can stretch their unbeaten run to seven matches across all competitions when they host the Houston Dynamo in MLS action on Saturday at BC Place Stadium.
A 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City in midweek vaulted Vancouver up to fourth in the Western Conference, four points above Orange Crush, who are eighth following a 1-0 triumph versus the San Jose Earthquakes.
Match preview
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It is a good time to be a Whitecaps supporter, as the Canadians find themselves positioned to claim home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs thanks to their recent form.
Vanni Sartini's men have points in five successive league contests, winning four of those fixtures, as they sit six points behind Real Salt Lake for third but with a game in hand.
Throughout the MLS campaign, the Caps have been a nightmare to defend in transition, with their inverted wing-backs causing all sorts of problems with their pace.
It helps when you possess as much quality and consistency up front as they have, with Vancouver failing to score in only four of their 23 league fixtures this year.
Only once in 2024 have they failed to find the back of the net at BC Place Stadium in this competition (0-0 draw against Austin FC), and they enter this upcoming encounter on a three-match domestic winning run on home soil, scoring eight goals over that stretch.
They have never lost a regular-season encounter against the Dynamo, coming away with a convincing 6-2 triumph when these sides previously met in Vancouver last year.
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A breakthrough four minutes from the end was enough for the Houston Dynamo to end a two-match winless run in MLS on Wednesday.
For a side that like to be possession-heavy, they have not often played at a very high tempo or taken advantage of transitional moments.
In his second season in charge, Ben Olsen's side have 34 points after 23 MLS matchdays, which is actually five more than they had at this stage a year ago, when they finished fourth in the Western Conference.
Their five away wins in the league this year are two more than Orange Crush managed during the 2023 campaign, while it is the most for this club in a single season since 2007 (seven).
Houston know a thing or two about playing in tight matches, with 13 of their 2024 league fixtures decided by a single goal and the Dynamo winning seven of those contests.
Orange Crush are winless in their last six regular-season away matches versus Canadian opponents, with their last victory in the Great White North coming at BMO Field against Toronto in 2019 (3-1).
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Team News
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On Wednesday, the Caps were missing Tristan Blackmon because of a groin injury, while Sam Adekugbe was rested after featuring for the first time this season last Saturday.
Damir Kreilach was an unused substitute against Sporting, and Ali Ahmed returned from international duty, starting in an attacking midfield role alongside Ryan Gauld.
An own-goal from Robert Voloder gave them the lead in midweek, with Fafa Picault netting the winner with fewer than 15 minutes remaining and Sebastian Berhalter recording a fifth goal contribution in MLS this year, a career-high for the American.
Nelson Quinones will not return to the Houston lineup this season after the Colombian suffered a serious knee injury earlier in the campaign.
We saw one change to their starting 11 against the Quakes, with Franco Escobar slotting in at left-back in place of Daniel Steres.
Steres ended up being the hero on Wednesday, replacing Griffin Dorsey in the second half and scoring his first of the regular season, as Steve Clark did not face a single shot on target, collecting his first clean sheet since late June (1-0 win over Charlotte FC).
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Laborda, Veselinovic, Utvik; Raposo, Berhalter, Cubas, Ahmed; Gauld, White, Picault
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Dorsey, Sviatchenko, Micael, Steres; Artur, Herrera; Carrasquilla, Bassi, Aliyu; Ferreira
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 Houston Dynamo
Throughout the campaign, the Caps have been deadly on the counter and on the faster surface at BC Place, we believe the Dynamo will have difficulty containing a side in fine form at the moment.
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