On Saturday evening, the Vancouver Whitecaps return home after a forgettable 2-game road trip in which they were shutout of points and goals and played some of their worst soccer of the Carl Robinson era. The Whitecaps will be in tough to break their losing streak against rival FC Dallas who are undefeated in their last six matches. We set the stage for the contest and get your thoughts.
The Vancouver Whitecaps are looking for the home-cooking cure this weekend following two road defeats to DC United (4-0) and Real Salt Lake (1-0). They will be in tough against probably their biggest rival FC Dallas who have 5 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss this season and are 4-2-0 in their last six matches. During their six-game undefeated streak, FC Dallas has scored 13 goals. In comparison, over their last six games, the Whitecaps have scored a total of 0 (excluding penalty kick goals).
Despite the recent trends of both teams, the match history of FC Dallas and Vancouver Whitecaps has been fairly close. In their previous five, each has 2 wins and a draw, with neither team losing at home. The Whitecaps could use a victory against the dynamic FC Dallas to turn their season around and to quell some of the anxiety of the Whitecaps' fanbase. Will they do it though?
While they have shown themselves to be a opportunistic team on the road, their home record has suffered during the past two seasons. Previously a fortress, the Vancouver Whitecaps are 1-1-1 this season at BC Place, following a pedestrian 9-2-6 record last season. Given the grueling travel of MLS and the Whitecaps recent woes, it is imperative that the team turn their home record around and return to continually having their fans leave the stadium in a celebratory mood.
FC Dallas scoring is led by midfielder Michael Barrios (4), the player we all want (expected?) Kekuta Manneh to be, followed by Portland Timbers transplantMaximiliano Urruti (3) and Canadian Tesho Akindele (3).
If the urgency to turn their season around, and actually score a goal, was not enough motivation for the Vancouver Whitecaps, this will be Blas Perez first match against his former club. Perez had a knock and did not travel to Salt Lake for last week's tilt. While expected to be in the lineup Saturday, it is unclear whether Perez will start of come off the bench. I am hoping the latter, followed by a late game winner. That would be satisfying.
Match Information
When: April 23rd at 7:30pm
Where: BC Place
Who: FC Dallas
PreMatch: Join in on the 'March to the Match' with the various supporter groups, starting 60 minutes before kick-off at Doolin's Irish Pub, located at Granville and Nelson (all ages welcome)
Additional Links:
Do not forget to submit your Starting XI and Final Score predictions in our season-long contest here
If you are new to Vancouver Whitecaps home games and/or would like to join in the match festivities, I encourage you to read this article (I also encourage other supporters groups to provide us with a link to information for fans looking to join in the cheering during the match).
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