After a well-deserved couple of weeks rest, the Vancouver Whitecaps return to MLS action on Saturday night as they travel down to California to take on San Jose Earthquakes.

We’ll start by discussing the Whitecaps, as despite the lack of recent game action due to them not participating in the Leagues Cup, we have still got plenty to talk about ahead of this encounter.

Vancouver come into this clash looking to extend their unbeaten run to four games, and they will be hoping that the break hasn’t hampered their momentum too much, as the 3-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City in their last game offered an indication that they may be capable of returning to their early season form.

But of course, the big news to have emerged in the past couple of weeks is that legendary Germany forward Thomas Müller has signed for the Whitecaps.

The optimism surrounding the club after of this signing is infectious, and this can only be a good thing if it spreads to the rest of the team, potentially inspiring a late resurgence to see the Whitecaps head into the playoffs in top form. Although it has been confirmed that Müller will make his debut in the clash against Houston on the 17^th of August, hopefully Vancouver will be bolstered by his arrival in this clash, before he even touches a ball.

In terms of team news, new signing Kenji Cabrera has medicals to complete, so he won’t be ready just yet, after arriving in Vancouver this week. Meanwhile the weekend without a match also gave Tristan Blackmon the opportunity to continue his recovery after his recent injury issues. Reports this week have also surfaced that Ali Ahmed is closer to being available, although he won’t be fit in time for this game.

Turning our attention to the hosts, and San Jose approach this game after a much-needed week off following a run of seven matches without a win.

Despite enduring a disappointing season which has left them languishing in 10th place in the Western Conference standings, the Earthquakes have a plethora of attacking threats who are more than capable of causing issues to any defence, and they will prove to be a challenging test for the Whitecaps.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given their attack consists of elite MLS players in Chicho Arango, Josef Martinez, and Christian Espinoza, San Jose draw their strength from their goal-scoring prowess, and they have scored 47 goals in MLS play this season.

For context, that number is five more than the Whitecaps have managed, and is third in MLS rankings behind San Diego and Inter Miami, which is an incredible rate for a team so far down the Supporters Shield standings.

However, it is their defensive woes that have seen them drop down the table, as they have shipped an alarming 44 goals. That is the seventh worst rate in the entire MLS and unsurprisingly has undermined their attacking successes.

This combination has seen San Jose involved in some crazy scorelines, including pulsating 3-3 draws with Inter Miami and Houston Dynamo, and a 6-1 victory against DC United which was followed up by a 3-5 loss to Sporting Kansas City in their next home game.

Their home record also offers cause for concern, as they have only won 3 of the 12 MLS clashes which they have played at PayPal Park this season. That is the second worst record for any side in the Western Conference, only behind FC Dallas, who have suffered a limited capacity in their stadium this season and so have been less able to generate an imposing home atmosphere.

With that being said, I expect that we’ll see a riveting affair in this clash, although I reckon that the Whitecaps have enough about them to win this game and pick up from where they left off.