On Saturday, the Vancouver Whitecaps will try to pad their lead atop the Western Conference table when they travel to Energizer Park to face St Louis City on matchday nine of the MLS campaign for both teams.
Last Sunday, St Louis dropped to 12th in the table, losing 2-1 to the Columbus Crew, while the Caps lead the Supporters' Shield standings following a convincing 5-1 win over Austin FC.
Match preview
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All that defending and hanging back has proven costly for St Louis over the past few weeks as they continue to slide down the table.
Olof Mellberg's men have lost four consecutive league contests after beginning the season on a four-match unbeaten run, putting them two points below the Western Conference playoff line.
This team did not concede a single goal in their opening four matches of the MLS campaign, but since then they have only scored once in their last four encounters.
When they do go forward, they have struggled in 1V1 situations, with a success rate of just 36.9%, the third-lowest rate in the league.
Should they suffer another defeat on Saturday, it would be their longest MLS losing run at home in club history, having lost their previous two matches at Energizer Park by a single goal.
Last season, St Louis failed to collect a single point in this competition versus Canadian opposition and have not won against an MLS side north of the border since defeating Toronto 1-0 at BMO Field in July 2023.
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After a couple of difficult matches at the end of the previous month, the Caps seem to have recaptured their strong early-season form.
Jesper Sorensen's men have won their two MLS matches played this month by a combined margin of 7-1 after netting just once in their final two league contests in March and claiming only one point.
Vancouver have the highest expected goals rate in the league (16.2) and have made many of their chances count, scoring the most goals so far in MLS (17) two more than the next closest team (San Diego).
The Whitecaps are unbeaten in their last five matches played across all competitions and are one of only two teams in the Western Conference, along with Dallas, that have yet to lose away from home in MLS this year.
Their strong performances have been very much by committee, with 10 different Vancouver players finding the back of the net to this stage of the domestic campaign.
The Caps have won their last three matches played versus St Louis, scoring a combined 11 goals over that stretch, including their first away victory against them last year (4-1).
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Team News
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St Louis were missing several players against the Crew last week, including Tomas Totland, who has a hamstring strain, Jayden Reid has a sore foot, while Joakim Nilsson and Chris Durkin were dealing with knee injuries.
A thigh issue kept Jannes Horn out last week, Roman Burki was sidelined due to an injured hand, Rasmus Alm sat out because of a hip problem, while Eduard Lowen did not feature for personal reasons.
Joao Klauss scored their opening goal last Sunday in a losing effort, the first for the Brazilian in the 2025 MLS campaign.
In their victory over Austin, the Caps were without Jayden Nelson and Mathias Laborda, who had hamstring strains, Ryan Gauld was sidelined with a knee injury and Sam Adekugbe had a quad issue.
Two new faces were in their starting 11 from matchday seven to eight, with Ralph Priso replacing Sebastian Berhalter in midfield and Daniel Rios taking the spot of Ali Ahmed in the attack.
Brian White scored four goals last weekend, tying him with Tai Baribo of the Philadelphia Union for the Golden Boot lead with six this season, while Emmanuel Sabbi netted his first as a Caps player.
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Lundt; Yaro, Kessler, Baumgartl; Wallem, Morales, Hartel, Hiebert; Ostrak, Pompeu; Klauss
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Ocampo, Blackmon, Veselinovic, Johnson; Berhalter, Cubas, Vite; Rios, White, Sabbi
We say: St Louis City 0-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
The Caps seem to have learned how to be effective without Gauld, and with so many others playing to their potential at the moment, we believe they will have a comfortable outing against a St. Louis squad struggling to create much going forward.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
