Vancouver Whitecaps FC visit San Jose in the second week of MLS action. But it’s the CONCACAF Champions League that will be preying on Vancouver’s mind.
For the second straight week, the San Jose Earthquakes welcome a Canadian team to Avaya Stadium. The Quakes will be looking to build on their 1-0 opening weekend win over Montreal. The Vancouver Whitecaps, meanwhile, are still searching for their first goal this season.
Here are the three key stories heading into Week Two of the 2017 MLS season.
Don’t expect a goal fest
Neither of these two sides have had much success on the goalscoring front lately. San Jose scored the fewest goals in the league last year by some margin, with 32. The next lowest were Houston and Colorado, with 39 apiece.
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The Whitecaps have their own well-documented struggles scoring goals, too, and were unable to hit the target last week against Philadelphia. Their defense, on the other hand, has looked solid of late, limiting the New York Red Bulls to one goal over two games in the CONCACAF Champions League, and keeping a clean sheet in their MLS opener.
The last time these two teams met, back in October at the same venue, the final score was 0-0. Expect defense to dominate once again on Saturday.
Distracted Caps?
The Whitecaps could be forgiven for not prioritizing this match. From San Jose, the Caps will be flying down to Mexico for their massive CCL semifinal against Tigres UANL of Monterrey next Tuesday. As a result, Vancouver coach Carl Robinson has some headaches to work through with his team selection.
Asked Robbo about problems caused by having two games in four days and massive one as second one. Said it's a "nightmare" for team selection
— AFTN (@aftncanada) March 8, 2017
If the Whitecaps are to have any hope of progressing to the final, they need to show up in Monterrey, which means they’re going to need some fresh legs on Tuesday. As a result, their performance against San Jose may suffer. Important pieces like Alphonso Davies, Kekuta Manneh, and Fredy Montero are likely to stay on the bench or see only limited minutes on the field on Saturday. The Quakes will be hoping to take advantage.
Playoff rivals
Even though Robinson is likely tempted to field a second-string side and write this match off, it still matters. These two sides finished eighth and ninth in the Western Conference last season and both teams have improved over the offseason.
It’s early days yet, but there’s a very good chance San Jose and Vancouver will be going head to head over a playoff spot when October rolls around. This is a golden opportunity to deal a blow to a conference rival, particularly for San Jose.
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Match Info
Who: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
When: Saturday, March 11th, 7:00 pm PT (10:00 pm ET)
Where: Avaya Stadium, San Jose, California
How to Watch: TSN 1 (Canada only), MLS LIVE
San Jose Earthquakes or Vancouver Whitecaps? Leave us your predictions below.