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Vancouver Whitecaps
Major League Soccer | Gameweek 28
Aug 22, 2021 at 3am UK
Empire Field
Los Angeles FC

Vancouver
2 - 1
Los Angeles

White (60'), Gauld (89')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Rossi (45+2' pen.)
Arango (90+4')

Preview: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Los Angeles FC - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Major League Soccer clash between Vancouver Whitecaps and Los Angeles FC, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Two MLS sides looking to get into the Western Conference playoff places meet on Saturday night as the Vancouver Whitecaps take on Los Angeles FC at BC Place.

The hosts are slowly climbing up the league standings, while their opponents have been slipping down them, and it should be a fascinating battle this weekend.


Match preview

Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Marc Dos Santos on June 24, 2021© Reuters

Vancouver finally ended their run of five consecutive draws with a win away at Austin FC on Wednesday.

Marc Dos Santos's side went behind initially when Austin captain Alex Ring headed the hosts in front, but the Caps regrouped at half time and equalised early in the second half.

Jon Gallagher and Tomas Pochettino spurned chances to restore the lead for the Verde & Black, only for Vancouver to then catch them on the break, with Brian White able to finish into an empty net to seal a 2-1 victory.

Whilst the run of draws was not ideal, it did keep them ticking over, and with this win the team now finds themselves up to 11th in the table, just four points off the playoff positions and technically unbeaten in seven games.

They will now fancy their chances at home to a team who appear to be going in the opposite direction.

Los Angeles FC manager Bob Bradley on May 9, 2021 © Reuters

The three consecutive wins back in July must feel like a lifetime ago now for Bob Bradley and his team, as they are winless in the six games since and come into this match on a run of three consecutive losses - both unwanted records for the fairly new franchise.

That form has seen them slip from what looked like a safe bet for a solid playoff position down to eighth, and the team now face the prospect of missing out on the playoffs for the first time since joining the MLS in 2018.

The latest loss came on Sunday away at Atlanta United, where a Josef Martinez goal proved to be the difference as the Black and Gold produced a large number of shots - 16 to Atlanta's nine - but got just three on target.

Bradley must be frustrated with the lack of consistency shown by his team all year, especially given their talent level on paper, and at the moment they look like a broken side.

Whilst they can take inspiration from the fact that they beat their upcoming opponents 6-0 and 6-1 in two of their four previous meetings, the most recent two have resulted in a Caps win and a 2-2 draw.

Vancouver Whitecaps Major League Soccer form:
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • W

Los Angeles FC Major League Soccer form:
  • L
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • L



Team News

Los Angeles FC defender Kim Moon-Hwan celebrates scoring a goal on June 24, 2021© Reuters

Vancouver's Javain Brown and Janio Bikel recovered from knocks last weekend and were fit enough to play the full 90 minutes of the midweek game, as was Cristian Dajome who had been limited to a substitute appearance during the previous game.

They remain without one of their main goalscoring threats, though, in Lucas Cavallini, who will be out for the next six weeks with a knee injury, and defender Cristian Gutierrez, who remains sidelined with a left quad strain.

LA have lost defender Eddie Segura for the rest of the year with a right knee injury, and Kwadwo Opoku is also out - for a shorter period, at least - with a knee problem.

Bradley experimented with a back four briefly against the San Jose Earthquakes but returned to his favoured 3-4-3 formation against Atlanta, with Mamadou Fall, Jesus David Marillo and Tristan Blackmon the defensive three.

Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Nerwinski, Rose, Vesilinovic, Brown; Bikel, Owusu, Teibert; Dajome, Caicedo, White

Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Romero; Fall, Blackmon, Murillo; Farfan, Palacios, Atuesta, Blessing; Rossi, Arango, Vela


SM words green background

We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 1-2 Los Angeles FC

It may go against the form book taking everything into consideration, but we just have a feeling for LAFC in this match and believe that they will shade a close contest to pick up an extremely important three points.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals 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.Under 3.5:data



ID:459866:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect9242:
Written by
James Mackenzie

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 Los Angeles FC win with a probability of 53.64%. A win for Vancouver Whitecaps had a probability of 23.83% and a draw had a probability of 22.5%.

The most likely scoreline for a Los Angeles FC win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.78%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.82%) and 0-2 (8.28%). The likeliest Vancouver Whitecaps win was 2-1 (6.15%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.41%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 6.1% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Vancouver vs Los Angeles

Vancouver Whitecaps
52.6%
Draw
21.1%
Los Angeles FC
26.3%
19
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Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami34228479493074
2Columbus Crew34199672403266
3FC CincinnatiCincinnati341851158481059
4Orlando City34157125950952
5Charlotte FCCharlotte FC34149114637951
6New York City FCNY City34148125449550
7New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls34111495550547
8CF MontrealMontreal341110134864-1643
9Atlanta UnitedAtlanta341010144649-340
10DC United341010145270-1840
11Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia34910156255737
12Toronto34114194061-2137
13Nashville SCNashville3499163854-1636
14New England RevolutionNew England3494213774-3731
15Chicago Fire3479184062-2230

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Los Angeles FCLos Angeles34197863432064
2Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy34197869501964
3Real Salt LakeSalt Lake341611765481759
4Seattle SoundersSeattle34169951351657
5Houston DynamoHouston34159104739854
6Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd34157125849952
7Colorado RapidsColorado34155146160150
8Portland TimbersPortland341211116556947
9Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver34138135249347
10Austin FCAustin34119143948-942
11Dallas34118155456-241
12St Louis City34813135063-1337
13Sporting Kansas CityKansas3487195166-1531
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes3463254178-3721


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