Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Columbus Crew SC
2017 MLS Match Preview
Saturday, Sept. 16 - 7 pm ET
BC Place - Vancouver, B.C.
WATCH: TSN in Canada | MLS LIVE in the US
After months toiling near the playoff line, the Vancouver Whitecaps moved into first place in the Western Conference on Wednesday night.
Now they'll look to maintain their spot atop the West on Saturday night against Columbus Crew SC.
The 'Caps moved to the top of the conference with a dominant 3-0 win against Minnesota on Wednesday. They're hot, and they're in a terrific position heading into the home stretch. Vancouver have won three in a row, are unbeaten in five and are 7-2-2 in their last 11 matches and have games in hand on the second-place Portland Timbers and third-place Seattle Sounders.
Crew SC, who are also unbeaten in five, are charged with snapping Vancouver's hot run of form. Columbus are in a pitched playoff battle of their own, currently sitting in fourth in the East following their 1-1 home draw against Sporting Kansas City on Sunday. While they're seven points above the playoff line, Crew SC are by no means out of danger. They've played two more matches than seventh-place Montreal and have just five matches remaining – a few dropped points by Gregg Berhalter's boys and a couple of wins for Montreal could put Columbus in a bit of hot water.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: D Kendall Waston, F Fredy Montero, M Tony Tchani
- International Duty: None
- Injury Report: OUT: D David Edgar (PCL, MCL tear), M Matias Laba (torn ACL); QUESTIONABLE: M – Christian Bolanos (left knee contusion)
Projected Lineup
(4-2-3-1, left to right)
David Ousted – Jordan Harvey, Kendall Waston, Tim Parker, Sheanon Williams – Andrew Jacobson, Tony Tchani – Cristian Techera, Yordy Reyna, Bernie Ibini-Isei – Fredy Montero
Notes: Wednesday’s win against Minnesota gave Vancouver their first three-game winning streak in league play since May 2016 … The ‘Caps have a 4-2-1 all-time record against Columbus, though they’ve strangely made most of their hay on the road. Vancouver are 3-1-0 all-time in Ohio, and just 1-1-1 in three matches against Crew SC in Vancouver.
Columbus Crew SC
- Suspended: Jonathan Mensah (yellow card accumulation)
- Suspended after next caution: None
- International Duty: None
- Injury Report: OUT: D Gaston Sauro (left PCL surgery, out for season), M Ben Swanson (right ankle surgery, out for season); QUESTIONABLE: D Waylon Francis (left thigh strain), M Niko Hansen (thigh injury)
Projected Lineup:
(4-2-3-1, left to right)
Zack Steffen – Jukka Raitala, Josh Williams, Lalas Abubakar, Hector Jimenez – Wil Trapp, Mohammed Abu – Justin Meram, Federico Higuain, Pedro Santos – Ola Kamara
Notes: Crew SC haven’t defeated Vancouver since the 2011 season, the Whitecaps’ first year in MLS … While that record isn’t impressive, Columbus have come away with points on two of their three trips to Vancouver, including a 2-2 draw in their last match at BC Place in April 2015.
All-Time Series
- Overall: Vancouver 4 wins (10 goals), Columbus 2 wins (7 goals), 1 draw
- At Vancouver: Vancouver 1 win (4 goals), Columbus 1 win (4 goals), 1 draw
Referees
Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Assistant Referees: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho, Anthony Vasoli
Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz
VAR: Matthew Franz
