Austin FC can officially clinch second place in the Western Conference when they visit BC Place Stadium on Saturday to face the Vancouver Whitecaps.
It is desperation time for Vancouver, who need a win and some help this weekend to remain in the MLS playoff hunt, while the Verde and Black have already booked their place in the post-season.
Match preview
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The 2022 season has been a bumpy ride for Vanni Sartini and his team, but they refuse to lay down and die to their credit.
They come into their final home fixture of the campaign having won back-to-back matches, ending an over five-year winless drought by defeating the Seattle Sounders 2-1 in their previous encounter.
Home field has been a big advantage to them in recent outings, with the Whitecaps winning four of their last five contests at BC Place.
A victory this weekend would extend their winning streak to three games, their longest of the season, but even that might not be good enough to keep them alive in the playoff chase heading into Decision Day.
With two matches remaining, the Caps are trailing three teams for that last playoff position, and they need Minnesota United to lose to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
A Loons victory against the Quakes would eliminate the Caps from playoff contention for the fourth time in the last five domestic seasons.
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One word that comes to mind when thinking of Austin FC this season would be comebacks, and Josh Wolff's men have made plenty of those in their sophomore campaign.
Their last one came just before the international break when they equalised five minutes after Hany Mukhtar had given Nashville SC the lead, drawing 1-1, having now collected 11 points this year when facing a second-half deficit.
The Texans have dropped three consecutive road outings and have found it challenging to find their footing in each of those contests, losing those games by a combined score of 8-1.
Throughout the season, the Verde and Black have been perhaps the most entertaining team to watch in the league, operating at a blistering pace with plenty of attacking options.
Wolff has not been afraid to take risks in his tactical approach, building out from the back even under an intense high press by the opposition, a strategy that has been highly effective, scoring the joint most goals in the Western Conference this year (64).
That formula has been successful thanks partly to possessing some quality attacking players, who are among the most potent strikers and playmakers in the entire league.
Team News
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Pedro Vite has goals in back-to-back games, his only two all year for the Whitecaps, Julian Gressel also has two this season, notching the winner versus the Rave Green, while Ryan Gauld has a goal and an assist in his last two matches.
He and Cristian Dajome are tied for first on the team in assists this season with four each, Tosaint Ricketts has four goals after failing to tally in 2021, while it has been the opposite story for Brian White, who has also scored four times this year, though he led the Caps with 12 in their previous campaign.
Deiber Caicedo, who had the winning goal in their only previous home match against Austin, is out after undergoing right knee meniscus surgery, Lucas Cavallini is eligible to return from suspension, while Sartini made two changes to his opening lineup versus the Sounders as Gressel and Russell Teibert were inserted in place of Ryan Raposo and Leonard Owusu.
Sebastian Driussi scored his first for Austin since August 31 in their previous encounter against the Boys in Gold as he trails Mukhtar in the Golden Boot race by two goals, Diego Fagundez is second in MLS for assists (15) behind Luciano Acosta, while Moussa Djitte has caught fire, scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Real Salt Lake and following that up by assisting the equalising goal versus Nashville.
Maximiliano Urruti had a brace in their previous match this season against Vancouver, with Driussi putting home the other tally as Alexander Ring and Julio Cascante picked up assists and Brad Stuver made five stops to collect a clean sheet in a 3-0 triumph.
Washington Corozo has an issue with his abdomen and will not be available this weekend, while Freddy Kleemann has not recovered from his left knee injury.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Hasal; Nerwinski, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Gressel, Cubas, Schopf, Martins; Gauld; Cavallini, Vite
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Lima, Gabrielsen, Romana, Gallagher; Ring, Valencia; Fagundez, Driussi, Finlay; Djitte
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Austin FC
It appears as though Vancouver have got their act together, and with Cavallini back in the fold, we should see them come out very determined and aggressive this weekend, though it might still be too little too late for their playoff chances.
With such a big cushion near the top the table, Austin have looked a little too comfortable and complacent of late, knowing that they are already assured of a home playoff game.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
