Rapids vs Whitecaps Preview by Chris Brown
Vancouver Whitecaps roll into Commerce City on Saturday to take on Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The Rapids return home following last weekend’s devastating 5-1 loss away to New York City FC and will look to rebound against the sixth place team in the Western Conference.
Colorado and Vancouver battled to a 2-2 Draw on July 9th at BC Place (Photo Credit: John May)
Vancouver last played on Tuesday night in Trinidad and Tobago and came away with a 1-0 victory against Central FC in the CONCACAF Champions League. The Whitecap line up for that match was completely different than the line-up that played on Sunday in Major League Soccer, when Vancouver was defeated 2-0 by FC Dallas.
Colorado currently sit in second place in both the Western Conference and Supporter’s Shield standings but have lost ground to FC Dallas in recent weeks.
On Wednesday the Rapids announced that attacker Luis Solignac had been traded to Chicago Fire in exchange for general allocation money and minutes later announced the acquisition of attacker Sebastien Le Toux from Philadelphia Union. Le Toux is expected to play on the wing for Colorado but it remains to be seen if he’ll factor into Pablo Mastroeni’s plans so soon after joining the squad. If the Frenchman does play on Saturday it will most likely be as a substitute.
These two sides have already met in 2016 when Colorado traveled to BC Place on July 9th and a late minute Axel Sjoberg goal saw the match end in a 2-2 draw.
Rapids Defender Eric Miller was sent off on July 9th for a nasty tackle on Pedro Morales (Photo Credit: John May)
Kendall Watson scored early in the match and had the privilege of being the first player to score against Tim Howard since his return to MLS. Kevin Doyle equalized but after Eric Miller saw red for a nasty challenge against Pedro Morales, Vancouver took the upper hand. A 87th minute penalty put the Whitecaps ahead and the Canadian side looked like they would take all three points from the match. But a Kevin Doyle cross, deep into stoppage time, was headed home by Axel Sjoberg, and the match ended in a draw.
Vancouver will see that match as a missed opportunity and will lament not having those two points as Portland Timbers are hot on their heels for the sixth place spot in the West.
Pablo Mastroeni will be without Michael Azira for the match this weekend. Azira, who has been a staple in the Rapid line up and a rock in defensive midfield, is suspended after seeing two yellow cards in last weekend’s match against NYCFC. Dillon Powers should slot into Azira’s role as he spent most of 2015 playing alongside Sam Cronin as a holding midfielder.
Colorado will also be without Jermaine Jones who is still missing in action due to a quad injury.
Vancouver will be without a handful of players, most importantly Kekuta Manneh who was injured against Colorado on July 9th. The player underwent surgery on his right foot on July 15th, and his absence has hampered the Whitecap attack. Manneh had five goals and two assists in 17 matches this season. Manneh is expected to return sometime this fall.
Axel Sjoberg watches his last gasp header fly past David Ousted to earn Colorado a draw. (Photo Credit: John May)
Before Eric Miller’s red card in the July 9th meeting between these two teams Colorado did appear to be the better side. Pablo Mastroeni’s game plan will most likely be similar to that previous encounter, he’ll just hope a defender doesn’t leave his side shorthanded again. Look for Colorado to try and stretch the field with balls over the top for Kevin Doyle and look for midfielders Sam Cronin and Shkelzen Gashi to try and keep the pace of passing up at a high tempo.
For Vancouver the key to this match, as it was nearly a month ago, will be the play of their midfield. Christian Bolanos was named the Whitecaps player of the month for July and for good reason. The player sparkled in the Vancouver midfield and created more scoring chances (11) than any Whitecap. He grabbed an assist against Colorado in July and when given time and space with the ball is extremely dangerous. If Bolanos can continue his fine run of form then Vancouver will like their chances to leave Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with at least a point.
