Wednesday night, the Vancouver Whitecaps will take on the Seattle Sounders at BC Place, in a match that is crucial not only to the MLS Playoff race, but also to the Cascadia Cup title.
Vancouver is coming off the heels of a solid but rather disappointing 1-1 draw against the Timbers this past weekend at home, where the Whitecaps had every opportunity to secure a win, but just couldn’t quite manage to get the result across the line. Meanwhile, the Sounders were able to secure a quality points haul against the Houston Dynamo at Lumen Field Saturday night, as they held the visitors to just 0.3 xG in a 1-0 win.
Overall, Seattle has been red-hot in this second half of the season. The Sounders have just 2 losses and 2 draws in their last 12 MLS matches, which is darn impressive for where they were early in the year. The Sounders have always possessed great underlying defensive numbers, and they continue to lead the West in xGA, at a rate of just 1.14 expected goals against per match.
On the attacking side, the early part of the year was a struggle, but the Sounders are now comfortably mid-table in that category, as they’ve only been held scoreless twice since May in MLS play. Jordan Morris leads the way for Seattle with 13 goals and 3 assists, while Albert Rusnák has enjoyed an impressive recent resurgence, as he’s up to 8 goals and 10 assists on the year, including a hat-trick performance against the Columbus Crew.
The Sounders’ lineup has very few weaknesses, and this has been particularly true with the continued development of 19-year-old Obed Vargas in the double pivot alongside Cristian Roldán, as well as the rise of former TFC man and Seattle native Paul Rothrock in the front four. Rothrock scored the critical goal for Seattle this past weekend to secure three points for the Sounders, and has 4 goals and 2 assists in just over 1000 minutes played.
Turning to the Whitecaps, they will once again have to deal with the rigours of a quick turnaround. Given this, I would expect more rotation, just as we’ve seen over the past few matches. In terms of player availability, Stuart Armstrong will be held out with a calf issue, while Ryan Gauld and Ali Ahmed, who each missed the match against Portland, are listed as questionable. Unlike on Saturday when these two were out, I would imagine both could be available for selection this Wednesday, but obviously, we will have to wait and see. Elsewhere, I imagine Mathias Laborda and Pedro Vite will be strong candidates to draw back into the starting XI after missing out this past weekend.
If you cast your mind back, Vancouver claimed a 2-0 win and a 1-1 draw in quick succession early on this season at Lumen Field. The Sounders are a much better team right now, so I don’t imagine this contest will be easy, but the Whitecaps will also have the strength of a home crowd behind them this time around. I think the big question, as with the previous two matches this year, is whether or not the Whitecaps can break down a disciplined defensive unit for the Sounders, and if they can avoid unforced errors in and around their own area.
If Vancouver can secure a victory Wednesday night, they will close the three point margin between themselves and the Sounders in the MLS standings (holding a match in hand), while also securing the Cascadia Cup for a second year in a row.