We will see two new managers make their debut on Sunday at BC Place Stadium when the Vancouver Whitecaps play host to Real Salt Lake.
Vancouver are currently riding an eight-game unbeaten run in league play, with their last defeat coming to Claret and Cobalt, who are looking for a third victory in four matches.
Match preview
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Just when all hope looked lost, going winless in eight straight MLS games from May 12 until the middle of July, the Caps have picked themselves up with consecutive victories while stringing together a lot of points lately.
As a result, they are only three points back of the San Jose Earthquakes for that final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a game in hand.
In their first match of the season in Vancouver last week, the atmosphere was electric for Marc dos Santos and his team, who reversed a first-half deficit to win for a second successive time, scoring the winner with a minute to play against Los Angeles FC.
It was an emotional game for Whitecaps players and staff who had been forced to play outside of their home stadium before COVID measures were lifted.
A second-half substitution seemed to spark their comeback last weekend, and it looks like we saw the birth of a new star in the process.
Unfortunately for dos Santos that victory was not enough to save his job as the team announced on Friday afternoon that they were parting ways with the Canadian coach just a day after his team lost 4-3 to Pacific FC in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship.
Their director of methodology Vanni Sartini has been appointed the acting head coach for the time being and he will likely hold that position for the remainder of the regular season.
After squandering several points early on in this campaign, things are evening out for Vancouver, who have held the fort at the back in their last two games despite facing some mounting pressure.
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Salt Lake have been in a position to win many games this year, but just like their 2-1 defeat last Saturday to the Colorado Rapids, the results have not always gone their way.
Freddy Juarez saw his team get caught flat-footed on set pieces last weekend while missing some glorious opportunities to take control of the game in the first half.
In the end, they were unlucky to come away with nothing, as they had a first-half goal controversially called back apparently for offside, while they had a penalty decision late in the match reversed for the same reason.
In a twist of fate Juarez has left the club to pursue other opportunities with the rumour being that he will fill the assistant coaching vacancy with the Seattle Sounders.
That means their now former assistant Pablo Mastroeni will be in charge this weekend while the club says that they will begin the search for a full-time manager immediately.
Claret and Cobalt have shown outstanding balance and commitment in most of their games this year, but they tend to have one or two mental lapses, preventing them from having a bigger playoff cushion.
Currently sixth in the conference, a win on Sunday combined with a loss for Minnesota United would not only move them up to fifth in the Western Conference, but it could put a little distance between themselves and the other teams on the outside of the playoff picture at the moment, with Salt Lake currently just three points above that post-season line.
While they have had their fair share of scoring opportunities over the past few games, they give their opponents too many quality chances, particularly on the road, where they have allowed 18 shots on target over their last three games and conceded six goals.
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Team News
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Since signing a three-year deal at the end of July, Ryan Gauld has been a lightning rod for the Caps, with the Scottish midfielder notching the match-winner versus the Black-and-Gold last Saturday and scoring a brace in a narrow defeat to Pacific FC.
Brian White has a goal in each of his last two MLS games and Maxime Crepeau was named to the MLS Team of the Week after stopping six shots against LA.
The club signed defender Marcus Godinho until the end of the season with an option to keep him through 2023, while Lucas Cavallini is out with a left PCL sprain, Caio Alexandre has a left foot sprain, Erik Godoy is out with a left calf strain and Cristian Gutierrez is still nursing a left quad strain.
Albert Rusnak scored his fifth goal of this campaign in a losing effort to the Rapids, while goalkeeper Andrew Putna made his season debut, coming on at half time in relief of Zac MacMath.
Forward Bobby Wood was unavailable last weekend due to a hamstring strain, first-choice keeper David Ochoa and striker Jeizon Ramirez missed that match due to quad tightness, Andrew Brody has a toe injury and Zack Farnsworth is still recovering from an ankle problem.
Their top goalscorer Damir Kreilach will have to sit out on Sunday after collecting his fifth yellow card, while Aaron Herrera picked up his seventh assist of the season, which is good for fourth in the league and first among defenders.
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Gaspar, Jungwirth, Veselinovic, Brown; Owusu, Teibert; Raposo, Gauld; Dajome, White
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
Putna; Holt, Glad, Silva, Herrera; Luiz, Chang, Besler, Menendez; Rubin, Rusnak
We say: Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 Real Salt Lake
The Caps are on a real high at the moment, and it looks like they have finally found a difference-maker in attack with the addition of Ryan Gauld.
Salt Lake always seem to have victory within reach, but without their catalyst in midfield Damir Kreilach, scoring chances could be hard to come by without his vision and creativity.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
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 Real Salt Lake win with a probability of 39.78%. A win for Vancouver Whitecaps had a probability of 35.36% and a draw had a probability of 24.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Salt Lake win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.38%) and 0-2 (6.23%). The likeliest Vancouver Whitecaps win was 2-1 (8.08%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.64%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 1.3% likelihood.
