With a national title in tow, the Vancouver Whitecaps return to MLS regular-season action when they host the Portland Timbers on Saturday.
Vancouver (13-9-7, 46 points) is in seventh place in the Western Conference, just ahead of eighth-place Portland (12-10-8, 44 points). Both teams can clinch a playoff spot with a victory Saturday and some other favorable results around the league.
The Whitecaps’ four-match (2-0-2) regular-season unbeaten streak ended with last Saturday’s 4-2 loss at the Los Angeles Galaxy. However, Vancouver rebounded Wednesday with a dramatic penalty-kick win over Toronto FC to claim the club’s third straight Canadian Championship.
“I hope (the Voyageurs Cup is) going to bring us the push and the awareness that we are a good team, so we’re going to push and go to the playoffs,” Vancouver coach Vanni Sartini said.
Sartini noted that midfielders Ryan Gauld, Ali Ahmed and Andres Cubas and forward Brian White all played through minor injuries on Wednesday, so their availability for Saturday may be questionable.
While the Whitecaps have just three days between matches, Portland coach Phil Neville expects his opponents to be in good form after their Cup triumph.
“That energy, that adrenaline takes you forward, it doesn’t take you back… At this stage in the season, the last thing that those set of players will need is rest,” Neville said.
The Timbers have had a full week of recovery after their last match, a 3-3 draw at Real Salt Lake last Saturday. Portland twice came back to tie the score, with Jonathan Rodriguez tallying the final equalizer in second-half stoppage time.
Star midfielder Evander is suspended for Saturday’s match due to yellow card accumulation, his latest coming against RSL. Evander leads MLS with 33 goal contributions (15 goals, 18 assists), and he has been directly involved in over half of Portland’s 63 goals this season.
The Cascadia Cup rivals split their two previous meetings this season. The Whitecaps earned a 3-2 victory on March 30 in Vancouver, and the Timbers collected a 2-0 shutout on June 22 at home.
–Field Level Media
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