Fresh off their first win of the season, Vancouver Whitecaps will aim to build some more early-season momentum against FC Dallas in Frisco on Saturday.

In beating the San Jose Earthquakes last week, the Caps won on the road in Northern California for the first time in six years. It hasn’t been quite that long since Vancouver won at Toyota Park, but FC Dallas’ home turf has been a historically difficult place for the Caps throughout their time in MLS (a 4-0 win in 2017 notwithstanding).

It hasn’t been the best start to the season, however, for the Hoops, who set some high expectations for themselves this off-season when they splashed the cash, laying out a club record $9.7 million for Benfica striker Petar Musa.

Along with their new signing, Nico Estevez decided to ditch the more conservative tactical style of 2023 and instead shift to a three-man backline while relying heavily on possession, short passing in the build up and, hopefully, lots of goals.

True to form, FC Dallas have had the third most possession of anyone in the league through three games, while the Caps have played against the ball more than almost anyone else. That sets up a pretty stark contrast and, one imagines, a similar dynamic to the Quakes match, where the Caps will try and hit back on the counter whenever possible.

Dallas’ fortunes have been complicated, seemingly, by injuries. Asier Illarramendi, who orchestrated Dallas’ 2-1 win over San Jose in week one, and Paxton Pomykal have been out for the past couple of weeks when, incidentally, Dallas lost both matches. Jesus Ferreira was also on the training table but returned in week three against New York Red Bulls. However, Dallas couldn’t get him, Bernie Kamungo, and Musa, all on the same page.

There seemingly have been some growing pains as well with the 3-4-2-1, as the wingback play has been uneven (Dante Sealy has dropped off after bagging the week one winner and Kamungo and Paul Arriola have been shuffled between the forward spot and the other wingback spot). At centreback, FC Dallas also feel incomplete aside from Nkosi Tafari.

This is a long way of saying that the Caps are playing Dallas at a pretty favourable time, with Ferreira still building up fitness after a limited pre-season, key midfielders and defenders out and a relatively new tactical outlook.

The injuries on the Vancouver side also appear to be lifting. This possibly could be the week Ali Ahmed returns to the starting lineup after bagging a phenomenal goal to seal the deal in San Jose. Sam Adekugbe will be the main miss for Vancouver, though signs point to his return when the Caps return home later on this month.

With a reliance on counter attacking play once again a near-certainty, the question will instead become who do the Caps trot out to do it. Damir Kreilach hasn’t really found his feet in this system in league play and Fafa Picault has looked much more fluid in that same role, occupying defenders in a more useful way to create space for Brian White and Ryan Gauld.

Beyond that, however, it seems unlikely there will be many changes from a productive outing in San Jose. Ralph Priso seemingly could feature off the bench and there might be some tweaks at wingback but I don’t envision any other big changes for Vanni Sartini.

The Caps have some long term questions about what their attacking strategy looks like. After a year in which they were near the top of the league in expected goals, Vancouver sits in 28th (albeit with one fewer match played than just about everyone), the White/Gauld pairing has yet to bear fruit and a deeper role for Pedro Vite hasn’t looked as good as it did in the two-legged tie against Tigres.

The Dallas match presents some real chances to change that and if Vancouver ultimately doesn’t get three points here, this could feel like a major missed opportunity in a few months, if Dallas are finally living up to their potential.

Conversely, a win here could send the Caps back to Vancouver with a bit of momentum and an opportunity to take the initiative and play an attacking brand of soccer that mirrors what they offered last year. It may be the third match of the year but this is already one that could have top four implications down the road.