Fresh off winning the Cascadia Cup, it’s back to home cooking and the battle for top spot in the Western Conference for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The Caps return to BC Place on Wednesday night for a Western Conference showdown with the Houston Dynamo, with the top two teams in the West meeting in a midweek tilt carrying some serious implications for the MLS playoff race.
The Whitecaps come into Wednesday first in the West with 37 points from 18 matches, holding a narrow two-point edge over Houston, who have picked up 35 points from 19 games. Vancouver’s position is impressive given their plus-21 goal difference, while the Dynamo arrive in Vancouver riding a four-match winning streak — all four wins came with a clean sheet so the Caps better have their scoring boots on.
Vancouver will also have momentum on their side after earning a 2-0 road win over the Seattle Sounders on Sunday. Thomas Müller has continued to influence matches with his creativity and may finally be finding a rhythm with Ryan Gauld who saw the pitch for half an hour Sunday in Seattle.
Houston has developed into one of the West’s toughest defensive teams. Brazilian attacker Guilherme is the danger man Vancouver will need to contain after scoring four goals in his last four matches, including the winner against the LA Galaxy on Saturday.
The Dynamo won the first meeting between these two, 1-0 in Houston back in May — a match Vancouver played largely with 10 men after goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka was sent off. The Whitecaps now have a chance to respond on home soil and strengthen their grip on first place.
More to come.