After a month on the road, Vancouver Whitecaps FC are back at BC Place. The Whitecaps play host to high-flying Sporting Kansas City, who currently top the Western Conference.
Vancouver Whitecaps fans have their team back home at last. The Whitecaps played their last four matches away from home (two wins, two losses). With players starting to come back from injury, and a Canadian Championship semifinal against Montreal Impact on Tuesday, coach Carl Robinson may finally make some changes to the lineup that stayed static for the last four matches in a row.
Coming into town is Sporting Kansas City. Currently top of the Western Conference, although having played more matches than most teams, a lot will depend on which version of SKC shows up. Will it be the side that beat Seattle 3-0 in midweek, or the one that lost 2-0 to Minnesota United two weeks ago?
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Current Record (W-L-D): 4-5-1 (6th in Western Conference)
Last Time Out: 2-1 Loss away to Houston Dynamo
Player to Watch For: Brek Shea. Since his return from injury Shea has 42 minutes on the field and two goals. As he showed last week against Houston, he can be a deadly weapon on set pieces.
Why They Win: The Whitecaps have been steadily improving after a poor start, with three wins in their last five matches. They’ve only lost once at home so far this season in the league, and against poor travellers SKC, Vancouver should have enough for the three points.
Why They Won’t: The opposition. The Whitecaps seem to have a mental block when it comes to Sporting KC. Four of the last five MLS meetings between these two teams have gone to SKC, the other being a draw.
Predicted Starting XI: Robinson will likely stick with the 4-1-4-1 that brought him a 50% success rate on the road. But seeing as it’s a home match, instead of playing three DMs he may move Christian Bolaños inside and hand Shea his first start since his injury.
Predicted starting XI for #VWFC as they host #SportingKC at #bcplace Saturday at 4pm. @MLSMultiplex #MLS pic.twitter.com/aNWeWW9xtR
— Gareth 🐺 (@garethlupus) May 20, 2017
Sporting Kansas City
Current Record (W-L-D): 6-2-4 (1st in Western Conference)
Last Time Out: 3-0 Wing at home to the Seattle Sounders
Player to Watch For: Tim Melia. It’s tempting to go for Gerso Fernandes after his hat-trick on Wednesday. But defensive solidity has been a huge part of SKC’s early season successes. They’ve conceded seven goals in 12 games, and Melia’s role in that record can’t be understated.
Why They Win: Gerso picks up where he left off on Wednesday, Dom Dwyer recovers from his knee injury and gets the better of Kendall Waston this time, and Melia keeps the Whitecaps off the scoresheet.
Why They Won’t: Travel and fatigue. SKC have only won once away from home this season, and the relatively early start time won’t do them any favors after playing in midweek.
Predicted Starting XI: SKC will likely stick with the starting XI that got the win against Seattle in midweek, assuming Dwyer (listed as “questionable”) is cleared to play.
Predicted starting XI for #SportingKC as they travel to Vancouver to play #VWFC Saturday at 4pm. #MLS pic.twitter.com/xMwLSUocEC
— Gareth 🐺 (@garethlupus) May 20, 2017
Score Prediction:
Two teams with good goalkeepers are likely to cancel each other out. Sporting KC will be happy to sit back and absorb Vancouver’s attacks, and Whitecaps won’t have enough creativity to unpick their defense.
Next: Canadian Premier League gets the green light
How to Watch:
Where: BC Place, Vancouver, BC
When: Saturday, May 20th, 4pm PT
Channel: MLS LIVE, TSN1/4, FOX Sports KC