Eighty Six Forever, Match Preview, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Whitecaps look to maintain Canadian dominance against TFC

The Vancouver Whitecaps will continue their early season run of inter-Canadian derbies, squaring off against Toronto FC Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.

While the Caps may have dropped their first match of the season last weekend, they will be handed a big boost as Ali Ahmed, Pedro Vite, Brian White and Andres Cubas will return from international duty (where they all got meaningful minutes and, for Vite and Cubas, starts).

That will make the Caps favourites over a TFC team that has not won since September. Their lone result this season has been a 2-2 draw with DC United on opening weekend.

This is not to say that Toronto is a team to underestimate. Given their rocky form, new manager Robin Fraser and his side will likely see a rivalry match as the perfect time to change their form. And this team likely has more high end talent than the CF Montreal side the Caps bested at home earlier this month.

Still, TFC have issues, as their inability to move on Lorenzo Insigne (who started last weekend but seems to still be an unhappy camper) and other players means there were fairly few changes the front office could make heading into 2025.

The standout so far has been DeAndre Kerr, who scored again last weekend and has looked like a player who should be nailed on for the starting XI. He is, incidentally, the only Toronto player to score multiple times this season and possesses the pace to stretch teams, something this team needs.

Toronto have quality pieces still, with Federico Bernadeschi and Jonathan Osorio remaining as the stalwarts, with both players putting in consistently solid performances so far this season.

The biggest issues, however, lie in defense, with Toronto shipping 2.4 goals per game, second to last in the entire league. This hasn’t been helped by giving away a couple of penalties but there are clearly some bigger issues here.

TFC have gone with the 3-5-2, with veteran Kevin Long in the middle of two youngsters, Zane Monlouis and Nickosoen Gomis. Where the wingbacks play has differed a bit game by game but one big difference is that Bernadeschi has played as a forward, not a wingback. And they did toggle to a 3-4-3 last match when Derrick Etienne Jr. came on.

On paper, this a decent match-up for Vancouver. They’ve had no problem commanding the game and bossing possession against weaker teams, even on the road. I would expect that to be the game plan here as well.

The only intrigue might be who starts with a tilt against Pumas in the midweek. Jesper Sorensen has seemingly prioritized the league, so I would expect a stronger side in this one. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he looks for ways to rest players.

The Caps have won their last five matches against TFC in all competitions and the goal here has to be to make it six.

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