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First thoughts
After an inspired 2-1 win last weekend over Real Salt Lake, the Vancouver Whitecaps playoff drive continues on Saturday with a home match against fellow Western Conference postseason contender FC Dallas.
While Vancouver will be motivated to come out hard in this one due to the fact that they are currently battling Portland for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, Dallas will be motivated in their own right, with Saturday’s fixture presenting them with an opportunity to clinch a spot in the postseason for the first team since 2011.
Keep Thinking
After enduring a painful scoring slump in recent weeks, Vancouver broke out last weekend with two goals by Pedro Morales against one of the best defensive teams in the league in Real Salt Lake. As the key offensive player for the Whitecaps, Dallas will need to find a way to slow down the Chilean number 10 in order to get anything from this road fixture against a desperate opponent.
On the other side of that equation, the main nemesis that Carl Robinson’s squad will need to try and negate is Dallas forward Blas Perez, who has been in scintillating form and who burned the Whitecaps the last time these two teams met. The Panamanian striker leads Dallas in scoring with 10 goals and he has scored three times in two matches against Vancouver this season.
Outside of paying particular attention to Morales and Perez, the key for both teams in this match will likely center on finding the right balance between pushing forward offensively and keeping numbers back to shut down opponent counter attacks.
Aside from the brilliance of Morales, Vancouver’s main offensive strength comes in the form of the pace that young attackers such as Darren Mattocks, Ketuka Manneh and Erick Hurtado bring to the proceedings. With that in mind, FC Dallas will need to be focused on preventing the Whitecaps from opening up space and stretching the field for their speedsters and ensuring that their defenders do not find themselves in too many 1v1 situations against the aforementioned trio.
Similarly, much of the success that Dallas has enjoyed this season has been generated compliments of the combination of the squad’s quick wide players utilizing the wings to send in balls to a forward line of quality poachers in Perez, David Texeira or Tesho Akindele. Vancouver will need to balance out its desire to push forward in search of goals with a focus on keeping players behind the ball.
Set pieces could also play a big role in this game, as Dallas possesses plenty of size in their lineup, while Whitecaps newcomer Kendall Waston has already proven that his 6’5 frame can be an imposing weapon against any team in the league.
Final Thoughts
While these are two pretty evenly matched teams overall, it is important to note that Dallas has come down somewhat from the blazing form they displayed during the summer months. Add in the fact that Vancouver will have home field advantage in this game and it is not a huge stretch to predict that Whitecaps will pull out a close and much needed win at BC Place.
Prediction
Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 FC Dallas
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