PREVIEW- The Vancouver Whitecaps face off against their Cascadian arch-rivals Seattle Sounders in what will likely be a fiery affair at BC Place on Saturday. With both teams in different positions in the Western Conference table, this game will be sure to provide some thrills, spills, and hopefully some goals.
Cascadia Cup On The Line: Whitecaps vs Sounders Match Prediction
Whitecaps’ Recent Run Of Form
The Whitecaps are on mixed form recently, having lost two straight games after going eight games unbeaten in MLS. After breaking their single-season record for the longest shutout streak in the MLS, the Caps have begun to fade a bit. Against Portland, the defense seemed to be all over in the opening 20 minutes, conceding twice including one within 120 seconds. And while the Whitecaps managed to pull one back through an own-goal, Portland scored inside the first 10 minutes of the second half to put the game to bed.
Meanwhile, against Dallas, they actually started the game with the lead as Vite capitalized on an error, but the Whitecaps could not muster attacking quality to score more before Dallas equalized. And then in the second half, while the Whitecaps grew into the match, it was Dallas that saw the winner. Across both games, the Whitecaps suffered for poor starts in the first half, even if they were the first ones to score, and have continued to show problems with finishing their chances. They will look to end this losing streak against Seattle in what will surely be a crunch match for the Whitecaps and their head coach Vanni Sartini.
Fulltime in Frisco.
Shifting our focus to Saturday's home match against Seattle Sounders 🎟 https://t.co/uSDC54LGTr pic.twitter.com/8Od7eOr7DF
— x – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) May 18, 2023
Sounders’ Recent Run of Form
On the other hand, Seattle has had a fantastic start to this season since the disappointment that was missing the playoffs in 2022. Seattle now sit 1st in the Western Conference, but have stumbled a bit in recent games. They have only won one out of their last four games, and have lost two games against teams outside the play-offs, including last place LA Galaxy. One player who has been a revelation for Seattle this year has been Jordan Morris, whose move up to striker has allowed him to eight goals in 12 matches for the Sounders. Those numbers currently have him tied for second in the top goal scorers charts, behind Denis Bouanga with 10 and level with Jesus Ferreira with eight (his last two goals came against the Whitecaps).
While they can comfortably say they have had a better start than the Whitecaps, their recent struggles mirror that of the Whitecaps in that they have been punished for slow starts. Against LA Galaxy they conceded after just four minutes, failing to score in that entire first half. Meanwhile, against Austin, this time at home, they once again went into half-time a goal down, and failed to find the target until the 79-minute. Seattle will hope to get back on some consistent form against bitter rivals Whitecaps, and put themselves as the front-runner for the Cascadia Cup.
Final. pic.twitter.com/WFrp8Foksh
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) May 18, 2023
Recent Head to Head
The last time these teams met was in September of last year, where the Whitecaps took a 2-1 victory over their rivals thanks to goals from Pedro Vite and Julian Gressel. In the last six meetings at BC Place between these teams, it has actually been Seattle who has got a better record, with them winning twice, losing once and drawing three times. Their last away victory against Vancouver was a 2-0 win with goals from Raul Ruidaz and Nico Lodeiro. For Vancouver, they will be hoping to make it back-to-back victories at home against Seattle, while for the Sounders, they will hope to bring some of that energy that they have had at home to BC Place, since the last two home games they’ve had against the Whitecaps have been resounding 4-0 and 4-1 victories.
MATCH REPORT: 'Caps earned another massive result in their push for the playoffs with a thrilling a 2-1 victory over Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday night at @BCPlace ✍️#VWFC | #VANvSEA
— x – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) September 18, 2022
Match Prediction
The Whitecaps are fighting to stay within the playoff spots at this point in the season, and a risking coming up with the same amount of points they had last season at this stage, in what was one of their worst starts to the season. Seattle, on the other hand, are fighting to stay at the top of the table with LAFC, FC Dallas and St.Louis CITY breathing down their necks. Given the fiery history between these two sides, and the stakes present in this match, it will probably end up being either a gritty affair or a blockbuster of a match, but will regardless likely end in a draw.
“Another rivalry game, so tensions are high. There’s a lot of pride in that. And at home, a place that we not only want to win every single game but especially against Seattle"
We battle @SoundersFC Saturday at 7:30pm on #MLSSeasonPass on the @AppleTV app ⬇️#VWFC| #VANvSEA
— x – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) May 19, 2023
