With the transfer window slammed shut, the Vancouver Whitecaps will look to kick off the stretch run by picking up a vital three points against St. Louis City SC at BC Place on Saturday night.

The Thomas Mueller era did not begin with a win at home last Sunday but the Whitecaps did everything but get the crucial second goal. If the match against Houston Dynamo is any indication, it is that Vancouver plans on continuing to impose its free flowing, possession-oriented style of play, just with Mueller as the centerpiece. Whether Saturday marks Mueller’s first start remains to be seen, though given that he had no trouble putting in a shift for 30 minutes on Sunday it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in the starting XI. This is also the last match for three weeks (with the Orlando game moved due to Leagues Cup) so there is no sense holding anything back.

Either way, perhaps the bigger question will be the fate of Tristan Blackmon, who left the Houston match early with an apparent knock. When asked this week, Axel Schuster played down the concern and said he would be available for Saturday. Concern flared up again, however, when Blackmon didn’t train on Thursday. This was possibly just to help the bruised and battered defender rest up but, if Blackmon can’t go, it will be a real trial by fire for new signings Sebastian Schonlau and/or Joedrick Pupe.

The return fixture in St. Louis was a ho hum 0-0 draw that came ahead of a key CONCACAF Champions Cup tie, hence why no one really thought much of it at the time. But given that this season has basically been an unmitigated disaster for St. Louis since then, one imagines Jesper Sorensen will be looking to take care of business on Saturday and pick up all three points.

The away side sits very much in the wooden spoon conversation, sitting on 21 points, good for second worst in the Western Conference. Aside from a shock 3-1 win over a slipping Nashville side, this is a team that has otherwise lost three out of its last four and seven out of its last 10.

That has prompted some changes. Manager Olof Mellberg was ditched back in late May and reinforcements for the attack were brought in, with Sang-Bin Jeong arriving from Minnesota United and Fallou Fall coming in from Norwegian club Fredrikstad. Jeong scored in the aforementioned win over Nashville but otherwise St. Louis has continued to rely on familiar faces in the attack, with Joao Klauss, Marcel Hartel and Tomas Ostrak leading the line in a 4-3-3. Those three men account for well over half of St. Louis’ 29 goals this season.

It remains some variation of the low possession, high pressing brand of soccer that Bradley Carnell introduced to great fanfare in 2023. But St. Louis rank near the bottom of the league in goals conceded per match and even lower in goals scored per match, though this is a bit of a holdover from the ponderous Mellberg era.

The defense has been a sore spot, as St. Louis simply has not been able to keep the opposition out of dangerous areas. Interim manager David Critchley has experimented with Timo Baumgartl, Josh Yaro and Henry Kessler along the backline but hasn’t really been able to hit on something that has helped boost St. Louis’ fortunes.

This attack has found some momentum in recent weeks (including a 3-2 shootout with Chicago) so there would be some danger here for whomever does slot in at centerback. But the big area of focus for the Caps will be capitalizing on the chances they are likely to get, given that a lack of finishing was ultimately their undoing against Houston. Whether Mueller starts or not, this team has more than enough firepower to get them past St. Louis — they just have to make good use of it.