After a huge come-from-behind win over the San Jose Earthquakes on the weekend, the Vancouver Whitecaps quickly turn around to take on Cascadia rival Seattle Tuesday (10 pm ET | TV & streaming info) in another match with massive playoff implications.
While the Sounders are trying to recapture the top spot in the Western Conference, the Whitecaps will look to remain above the playoff line against a rival they’ve yet to beat this season.
And the quick turnaround further complicates matters for Vancouver coach Marc Dos Santos, who expects a heavy rotation Tuesday night against a Sounders squad with three extra days of rest following a 1-1 draw against the Timbers last Thursday.
“They play with five days of recovery, we play with two days of recovery,” Dos Santos said in a video conference call with reporters Monday. “We’re forced to make changes and to rotate a lot. That’s the difficult part.”
Dos Santos said it’s a similar situation the shorthanded squad managed in an MLS is Back Tournament match against Chicago Fire FC. In that match, goalkeeper Thomas Hasal made his MLS debut, the duo of Ryan Raposo and Theo Bair started up front and the Whitecaps won 2-0 to advance to the knockout stage.
“The guys that are starting the game have a huge responsibility,” dos Santos said. “It’s an important game for the club. We need the fresh legs of the guys. They have fresh legs. It's also an opportunity for them to show how they can answer in a game of this level.”
The starters, Dos Santos said, will “have to bring the game to a certain point,” to when he can go to the substitute’s bench — which Dos Santos said will likely occur earlier than later — where those five changes “can impact the game.”
Not available for this match, or another Cascadia showdown Sunday (10 pm ET | TSN in Canada; MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US) against the Timbers, are David Milinkovic, who has been sidelined the last four matches with an undisclosed injury, or Jasser Khmiri, who is wrapping up his quarantine in a separate Portland hotel and will soon rejoin the Whitecaps for training after competing for Tunisia earlier this month.
As for Maxime Crepeau, the Whitecaps regular starting goalkeeper is back training, but needs to ice his hand, which he broke at the MLS is Back Tournament, after each session.
“Now he has to find the fitness again,” Dos Santos said. “It’s going to have to depend on how the season goes. Max is a possibility, but right now he's not fit yet to play.”
