Match Preview: Real Salt Lake vs Vancouver Whitecaps – trying to reclaim some rhythm

It feels a bit odd to say when they have still lost just two times in 22 matches this season, but the Whitecaps seem to have lost some of their momentum. A scrappy comeback to earn a point against LAFC, an uninspiring goalless tie in Austin, and nearly losing the current undefeated streak against Valour FC of all teams makes it three draws in a row.

While not terrible, it’s also not the type of form you want to see just a week out from the CONCACAF Champions Cup Final, another busy stretch of MLS matches, and staring in the face of another crushing international window.

That last point makes these next two MLS bouts – against Real Salt Lake on Saturday and Minnesota United on Wednesday – even more critical. We already know that the ‘Caps will be down eight players due to international call-ups for the June 8th match against Seattle, and Gold Cup absences could take over half of those out of up to four more MLS matches.

Given that the team’s lone loss in MLS play so far was to Chicago in basically the exact same circumstances, you’d have to imagine that it will be difficult to avoid dropping more points during the month of June.

Some more positive news is that RSL happens to be the last team that the ‘Caps defeated! That was three weeks ago at BC Place, when a fantastic solo goal from Jayden Nelson and a good finish from Tristan Blackmon powered a 2-1 victory.

That match was part of a concerning slide for the Utah outfit, who have just one win in their last seven, making this a potential “get right” opportunity for both sides. For the ‘Caps it’s also a chance to keep a little breathing room between them and the chasing pack in the Western Conference standings, with four teams entering the weekend within six points of them (albeit with Vancouver having a match in hand on all of them).

The big absence for this weekend is that of Andrés Cubas, who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation. That, combined with being left out of the matchday squad against Valour, means he should be pretty well-rested heading into the all-important next week.

A number of other regulars also got some time off in the Canadian Championship, including Pedro Vite, Tate Johnson, and Édier Ocampo who didn’t feature at all. Ranko Veselinović, Ali Ahmed, Sebastian Berhalter, and Brian White all came on in the second half, and all four should figure to start against RSL.

Vite started as part of the front three the last time that these two sides met, and given Emmanuel Sabbi’s poor performance against Valour the Ecuadorian could slot into that spot again if Jesper Sørensen prefers him over either Ahmed or Nelson.

On the side of the home team, Diego Luna is the obvious man to watch as he’s continued his individual ascendency this season despite the struggles of the squad around him. He’s got seven goals on the year – just one short of matching his 2024 total already – but the issue is that no one else on the team has more than a single goal.

The lack of offence has meant that RSL has picked up just seven points from their six home matches, although America First Field has traditionally been a very tough place to play for the ‘Caps. They’ve won just two of their 16 road matches in Utah all-time, with the most recent of the pair coming back in September of 2020.

Having said that, the first-ever victory in Salt Lake City came in 2015, so perhaps the Whitecaps are on track for a scheduled every-fifth-year victory!