Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Seattle Sounders | CONCACAF Champions League Match Preview

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Seattle Sounders
2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League
August 4 | 10 pm ET | BC Place
TV: FOX Sports 1, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet World

The CONCACAF Champions League’s “Group of Death” will begin on Wednesday night, with Cascadia rivals Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders set to kick off Group F at BC Place. It’ll be the second meeting between the sides in five days, with the Sounders aiming for revenge after the Whitecaps came to CenturyLink Field and blew the doors off their reeling rivals 3-0 on Saturday night.

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Saturday’s result was a solid marker of two clubs going in wildly different directions, vaulting the road warrior Whitecaps into first place in the West and dropping rapidly sinking Seattle – losers of four in a row and seven of eight – into the conference’s sixth and final playoff spot. They’ll both be looking to get off to a strong start in CCL play on Wednesday night with Honduran champions Olimpia – who eliminated the Portland Timbers in last year’s CCL group stage – looming.

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SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE

It’s been a rough couple of months for Sigi Schmid and Co., who fell off a bit of a cliff while dealing with the absences of Clint Dempsey and Brad Evans due to international duty andObafemi Martins due to injury. Seattle has lost seven of eight regular season games since June 20, falling all the way from first to sixth in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. If they don’t get things turned around quickly, we could be looking at a Sounders-less playoffs for the first time in Seattle’s MLS existence. A win on Wednesday would be a good way to start a late season run.

HOME SWEET HOME?

It’s not a stretch to say the Whitecaps have been amazing – out of this world, incredible, whatever you want to call it – on the road this year. Vancouver are 7-4-2 away from BC Place in 2015, with their seven road wins three more than any other team in the league. The ‘Caps haven’t been so stellar at home, however. Carl Robinson’s boys are 5-4-1 in British Columbia, the third-worst home mark in the West. One of those home losses of course, came to the Sounders, who beat the Whitecaps 2-0 at BC Place back in May. But that was a different Sounders team, and a different ‘Caps group, too. We’ll see if the result changes on Wednesday.

INJURY REPORT: Seattle will be without at least one big gun on Wednesday, with the club revealing on Tuesday that star defensive midfielder Ozzie Alonso will miss the Vancouver match after suffering a slight hamstring tear on Saturday. Martins, who hasn’t played since June 13 due to a right adductor strain, remains questionable for the match. Seattle isn’t the only team dealing with some absences – Vancouver will again be without midfielder Mauro Rosales(pulled groin), while defender Sam Adekugbe’s status is up in the air as he looks to make his way back from a lengthy battle with an ankle injury.  

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PLAYERS TO WATCH

CLINT DEMPSEY, SEATTLE: Who else? Deuce is the man who makes things go for Seattle, who have looked lost in the attack with both him and Martins sidelined. If there were ever a time for Dempsey to put Seattle on his back, it’s right about now. Watch out for him on Wednesday.

MATIAS LABA, VANCOUVER: As the Armchair Analyst wrote about on Monday, Laba and central midfield partner Gershon Koffie have been excellent for the ‘Caps over the last two months, locking down the middle of the park against all comers. With Alonso out, look for Laba to shut down everything coming through the middle before springing Vancouver’s dangerous attackers for a few of their trademark counterattacks on Wednesday.