After securing a spot in the Canadian Championship Final, the Whitecaps are on the road facing another opponent who is in a similar place in the standings and it may be their best chance so far this season to pick up their first victory on the road. This will be the fifth match in fifteen days as they continue their busiest period in fixture congestion and travel so far this season. Once the Caps have played this match and returned to Vancouver the club will have made four cross continent trips travelling over 13,000 kilometers in the process.
The Whitecaps welcome back Hassli from suspension in league play as he will team up with Camilo up front. Neither player saw a full 90 in the midweek game as Hassli played only the first and Camilo saw 75 minutes of action. Coming off the bench in the second half against Montreal Camilo seemed reenergized as he was continually making his runs at the defenders which eventually led to the free kick that set up the tying goal. If he can add a pass onto the end of some of those runs, the Caps may see more goals.
While it seems like Chiumiento may need a game off after playing 120 minutes there is no guarantee that Teitur will bench their best playmaker but a good option would be Salinas who is almost ready for full duty. Teibert was subbed off after 90 minutes on Wednesday and may be in the starting eleven or start on the bench with Khalfan possibly starting on the left side. Based on his play against Montreal Teibert would deserve another start as he proving to be a consistent threat on the left wing. In the central midfield it seems like both Dunfield and Koffie never get fatigued but there is a chance that either Brovsky or Harmse starts in one of their place.
A year and some days after his horrific injury Mouloud Akloul made a triumphant return scoring the winning goal in the two game aggregate semi-final against the Impact. He was also the best defender on the night, was easily the most vocal on the backline and was even getting the crowd involved in the game. While Akloul was the team’s best overall player on Wednesday and should start again it may be with Boxall this match as Janicki struggled against the Impact. Because there is a serious lack of depth at the fullback position, it is highly unlikely that either Rochat or Leathers get a day off. It hard to imagine, considering how much Joe Cannon is paid, that he won’t see the pitch but we’ll still pencil in Nolly as the starter in goal.
A positive for the team is that the roster is getting healthier every day as for the first time the Whitecaps face a team with more injury concerns than they have. Despite the relative health, the team still lacks depth at couple of key positions as Teitur is sticking with the same players to fill those spots. The two players, if they start, who need coverage on the defensive side are Rochat and Leathers as they have played every minute so far this season and have started looking tired which has affected their defensive play. That is why starting Salinas over Chiumiento is important as he has more speed than the Swiss international and is better with his marking. Don’t expect either player to make many runs into an attacking position but especially Leathers who has the task of tracking the dangerous Marco Pappa.
The Whitecaps will need to attack the middle when in the final third as they are missing their veteran CBs and their veteran holding midfielder because of injury. The Fire will be starting relatively inexperienced players in those positions and may be exposed if pressured appropriately. The biggest question for the Whitecaps is whether they start the game conservatively so they save their energy or throw caution into the wind and attack a team weak in the back to gain the early lead. However they start, the Caps hope the plan works and gets them their first result on the road in the MLS.
(image courtesy of Bob Frid)
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