Ahead of #SKCvVAN, SportingKC.com caught up with The Province sports reporter Marc Weber to preview tonight's match at Children's Mercy Park. Live coverage of the match starts at at 7:00 p.m. CT on Facebook.com and airs tape delayed (at 1 a.m. CT) on Univision Deportes Network.
What are your thoughts on their club’s win on the weekend at Columbus?
It was obviously a huge one for their playoff aspirations. They’re still big underdogs, I think, to make the playoffs, but this gave them some hope and some confidence. I tend to agree with Carl Robinson that they were due a break. The own goal was very fortunate but they have been hard done by in some games recently. Andrew Jacobson changed the game with his goal. The Caps had done nothing offensively until then, and they were very good after the goal.
What kind of lineup do you think we’ll see from Vancouver?
It will be a good lineup, one they think can win the game and wrap up the group. They’ll have to keep an eye toward Saturday’s MLS game in Seattle of course but they have some options. David Ousted isn’t in the 23-man roster but Kendall Waston, Matias Laba and Pedro Morales are. I don’t think Robinson will risk too many guys playing three games in a week, and six guys are back from international duty, which takes a toll, but they’ll find a balance. I’d expect Erik Hurtado to start. Blas Perez is available so perhaps two up front. 4-4-2 seems to be working for them lately. Jacobson will start, Robinson has said, so perhaps Morales plays along side him in central midfield. Marcel de Jong will start against his former team, we’ve been told.
How do you expect the Whitecaps to approach the match (especially with Sporting KC needing a win)?
I don’t think it matters to Vancouver what K.C. needs. The Caps can lock up the group and that’s their motivation. They’re in a good position regardless because they have a home game left, but they certainly would prefer to have zero distractions down the stretch. Also, with another do-or-die type game in Seattle on Saturday, they’ll want to keep building up their confidence. That said, they've had better results this year when they’ve focused on keeping things tight at the back and looked for their opportunities on the counter, so I’d expect that again. They’ve had a handful of wins with less than 40 per cent possession. Their mantra of late is they really don’t care how ugly it looks.
Who are some players to watch for Tuesday’s match?
I think we could see Alphonso Davies, the 15-year-old, start, which is always great to see. He’ll at least come off the bench. Nico Mezquida didn’t start in Columbus so I’d expect him to play a role in this one. Morales has really struggled since the first couple of months but, against a weakened K.C. lineup, this could be his chance to be a difference-maker. As for USL call ups, there are three but I wouldn’t expect to see them in action. Maybe Kyle Greig, the striker, off the bench.
How is the club balancing CCL and MLS play?
Ask me that after Saturday! No, I think they’re doing a decent job of it this season as evidenced by leading their CCL group. They’re not struggling in MLS because they’ve put more focus on CCL. They’re struggling in MLS because they’ve been poor most of this season, allowing too many goals and scoring too few (that old problem). History does tell us though that struggling MLS teams can have good CCL runs and I think we’re seeing that in Vancouver this year. There’s just that little extra motivation to get something positive out of the season and out of this competition. I don’t think Robinson has dressed lineups that are too different than what he would have dressed if they were winning in MLS, but the guys have just stepped up in their CCL opportunities. People make this big deal about how you juggle these two competitions (or three competitions if you include US Open Cup and the Canadian championship). For me it’s simple: the priority is MLS (until you’re out of it) and your depth will largely answer the other questions.
