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[monks data]
Toronto FC
Major League Soccer | Gameweek 2
Apr 24, 2021 at 8pm UK
Exploria Stadium
Vancouver Whitecaps

Toronto
2 - 2
Vancouver

Singh (7'), Osorio (83')
Bradley (64'), Gonzalez (70')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Dajome (55' pen.), Rose (70')
Gutierrez (6')

Preview: Toronto vs. Vancouver Whitecaps - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Major League Soccer clash between Toronto and Vancouver Whitecaps, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat to CF Montreal on the opening day, Toronto take on Vancouver Whitecaps at the Exploria Stadium on Saturday in Major League Soccer action.

The Reds suffered a 4-2 away defeat last Saturday, while the visitors kicked off their season with a win away at Portland Timbers.


Match preview

Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Marc Dos Santos directs his team against the Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium in September 2020© Reuters

Toronto suffered a disappointing defeat last time out, as they travelled to take on CF Montreal in the opening game of the MLS season.

The hosts took a 2-0 lead early on through Mason Toye and Romell Quioto, but Marco Delgado pulled a goal back for his side on the stroke of half time from the penalty spot.

Montreal would then boost their lead in the second half through Victor Wanyama and Dorde Mihailovic, while Richie Laryea's late strike was nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.

While their domestic season got off to a disappointing start, Chris Armas's side did pick up a very positive result beforehand, advancing to the final eight of the CONCACAF Champions League with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Mexican outfit Club Leon.

Toronto withstood intense pressure in the away leg and escaped with a 1-1 draw thanks to an Andres Mosqueira Guardia own goal in the second half, before Patrick Mullins and Justin Morrow fired them to a 2-1 victory in the second leg in Florida to book their place in the quarter-finals.

Armas's men will now look to put their first league win on the board after the defeat last Saturday.

They take on a Vancouver Whitecaps side who got off to a strong start last time out, defeating Portland Timbers 1-0 at home.

In a fairly quiet match, Lucas Cavallini made the difference soon after half time, netting the only goal of the game to give his side a winning start to the domestic campaign.

Marc Dos Santos's side narrowly missed out on the MLS playoffs last season, finishing in ninth spot in the Eastern Conference with 27 points from 23 league games.

They will look to improve on that and book their spot in the top seven this season, a bid that would be majorly boosted by back-to-back victories to start the season.

Toronto Major League Soccer form:
  • L

Toronto form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • L

Vancouver Whitecaps Major League Soccer form:
  • W



Team News

Toronto have been hit with a major injury crisis in recent weeks, with eight players absent from their opening game.

Midfielders Alejandro Pozuelo and Jonathan Osorio both remain out of action, while centre-backs Chris Mavinga and Julian Dunn are also absent.

They are not the end of Armas's injury worries either, as the forward line has taken a major hit with Jozy Altidore, Ifunanyachi Achara and Erickson Gallardo all out of Saturday's encounter.

As a result, Armas could have to stick with a similar lineup to the side that lost to Montreal, given the lack of options.

Meanwhile, Vancouver's will be without left-back Ali Adnan, while defender Erik Godoy and forward Tosaint Rickets will both miss out through injury.

Lucas Cavallini will lead the line for Dos Santos's side, having netted his first goal of the season in the win on the opening day.

Toronto possible starting lineup:
Bono; Laryea, Singh, Gonzalez, Auro; Bradley, Priso; Delgado, Okello, Shaffelburg; Mullins

Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Nerwinski, Veselinovic, Rose, Gutierrez; Caicedo, Bikel, Baldisimo, Teibert; Dajome, Cavallini


SM words green background

We say: Toronto 1-1 Vancouver Whitecaps

In normal circumstances, Toronto would come into this clash as firm favourites, but the differing starts of the sides and the major injury list should put the visitors on a level playing field.

Vancouver will come in with some confidence following their victory last time out, and should be able to get a result against a depleted Toronto side.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Toronto win with a probability of 71.38%. A draw had a probability of 18.4% and a win for Vancouver Whitecaps had a probability of 10.2%.

The most likely scoreline for a Toronto win was 2-0 with a probability of 14.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (13.25%) and 3-0 (9.91%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.66%), while for a Vancouver Whitecaps win it was 0-1 (4.09%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 3% likelihood.


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Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami94321914515
2New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls8431117415
3Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia7340149513
4Columbus Crew8341107313
5FC CincinnatiCincinnati833287112
6Atlanta UnitedAtlanta7322127511
7Charlotte FCCharlotte FC832398111
8DC United82421212010
9CF MontrealMontreal73131014-410
10Toronto8314812-410
11Chicago Fire82331114-39
12New York City FCNY City822479-28
13Orlando City7223813-58
14Nashville SCNashville7142813-57
15New England RevolutionNew England7115513-84

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy84311712515
2Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver7412159613
3Houston DynamoHouston741297213
4Real Salt LakeSalt Lake8332118312
5Colorado RapidsColorado83321312112
6Los Angeles FCLos Angeles83231312111
7St Louis City82511211111
8Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd7322109111
9Sporting Kansas CityKansas82421413110
10Portland TimbersPortland8233161609
11Austin FCAustin82331113-29
12Seattle SoundersSeattle71339726
13Dallas7124610-45
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes81071020-103


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